


Will it ever be me?

by Dark_Labyrinth



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Angry Sex, Angst, Dream Sex, Dubious Consent, F/M, Female Eames (Inception), Hurt Eames, Hurt/Comfort, Light Asphyxiation, Light BDSM, M/M, Post canon, Size Kink, Terrorists made them do it, Violent Dream kick
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-01-25
Updated: 2013-03-02
Packaged: 2017-11-26 20:04:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/653919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Labyrinth/pseuds/Dark_Labyrinth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working for the Government our guys all find themselves in just a tad over their head. Can they do what needs to be done?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CariadWinter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CariadWinter/gifts).



> So my lovely partner CariadWinter and I decided to gift eachother a nice long Inception fic. We are both several chapters in and decided to go ahead and start sharing it with all of you. We gave each other prompts and are trying our best to fulfill our kinky little wishes. Enjoy and be sure to go check out her fic as well. <3
> 
> I do not own Inception or the lovely boys that I like to play with but I promise to put them back when I am done and only borrow them when the writing bug arises.

[ ](http://s1284.photobucket.com/albums/a562/Dark_Labyrinth/?action=view&current=Inception2_zps0bea72d9.png)

“For fucks sake, Cobb. I’m getting sick of these jobs,” Eames said as he read the file on the mark.

“This is a high paying job for five or ten minutes work. I don’t see why you’re complaining,” Cobb answered as he checked the PASIV. 

“Some senator gets her bits in a twist because she thinks her husband had an affair and she can’t prove it. It’s beyond ridiculous, and an utter waste of time,” Eames started pressing the issue. The job was like a few they had had recently and none of the others had to endure what he did.

“I’ve been watching him, he’s definitely not currently cheating. But there have been some very racy texts between him and this…” Arthur reached for the file. He hated the ones with odd names. “Darleis,” he said as he opened to the woman’s picture. She was beautiful even if she had an odd name. Long black wavy hair, big blue almond shaped eyes, perfectly full lips that just… Arthur cleared his throat and handed Darleis’ file to Eames.

Eames whistled as he looked. “I’d be cheating too, wow.” 

“These are the only jobs I’m doing now. Nice and legal,” Cobb said. He did feel bad for Eames about the particulars of jobs like the one they currently had in front of them. Neither him nor Arthur ever asked him how he felt about his particular role. 

“At first it was funny, but I am beginning to feel like a rather high priced prostitute,” Eames continued on his disapproval of the job. He didn’t mind the security jobs they had. They were boring, yes, but at least he wasn’t having sex with anyone. Most the time it was bad sex too. It might have been different if he actually got off on them, but he didn’t. Not to mention the fact of attraction was nearly non-existent. There was only one bloke that was fairly attractive but that was it.

Arthur raised his brow as he looked to Eames. There was a time when he would have thought the man would do anything. He had liked that Eames. It was as if he could dream anything and make it easy and damn good too. It had only been eighteen months since the Fischer job and Cobb’s status as a free man. Saito had gotten him a job with the government, training politicians to defend and arm their subconscious. During that time he had noticed Eames become a bit less… Eames. 

“I thought you liked being the one front and center in the dream?” Arthur questioned and wasn’t surprised at the chastised look that appeared on the man’s face. 

“How would you like some random bloke or bird just having a grope?” Eames rolled his eyes and grabbed both the files so he could go do his homework. He started walking for the door when Cobb grabbed his arm. 

“If you want me to find another forger for these jobs, I’d understand,” Cobb told him and gave his arm a light squeeze. Eames always had been eager to mess around on jobs but maybe they had pushed him too far with all the recent jobs that turned sexual for him. 

Eames shook his head. “It’s alright, Cobb. I think I’m just blowing off steam for no real reason right now,” He reached his free arm around and gave Cobb a pat on the back. Cobb released him and he gave him a smile. “Besides, there’s no one good as me.”

Eames walked out of their very posh conference room, down the hall to his own very posh (very un-him) office. He shut his glass door because the whole bloody office was made of glass walls. No fucking privacy at all. He flopped his body heavily into his very posh leather seat, (he’d been doing this for the entire year hoping to break the thing. As it turned out it was very sturdy and he bought one for his desk at home) and he set the folders down on his desk. 

He hadn’t been to Vegas in weeks and he felt his palm itch at the idea. He loved gambling. Maybe a little too much but he loved it none the less. He liked not knowing the outcome. Which was why he liked dream sharing and loved inception. All it was; was playing the odds and hoping it all comes out in your favor. The new job was going to require them all leaving for D.C. in the morning. Fuck it all he needed a drink. 

Eames left the files on his desk and headed out for an early lunch. The business district that held their offices didn’t offer much in the way of a decent pub. There were a few high-end bars but nothing like a pub. After the first week there, Eames had gone to recon the area and found he had to walk too far for a decent pub. So he hailed a taxi and asked him to take him to his favorite bar. 

Jonesy’s was a quiet out of the way bar. Wood floor, bar and booths with some brass thrown in here and there, faux Tiffany lamps spread through out and a clientele that suited Eames. The crowd was highly diverse. He could come across anyone there and that was one thing he really liked about the place. 

As soon as he walked in, he spied a cute brunette with a rather small frame. The type of guy, who if he were straight, would have constantly been having to prove he liked girls. This one however was definitely gay and definitely in need of some company. Eames played it cool though, he sat at the bar, said hello to Jamie the red head bartender and ordered a drink. He smiled at her, showing off his smile that he had heard was one of his best features and she just gave him a knowing smirk back.

“Poor thing won’t know what hit him, sugah,” Jamie said as she slid the ale across the bar to Eames. She was from the south and just about the sweetest thing Eames had met in California. He loved her accent and her feisty attitude. Not to mention she was exceptionally easy on the eyes. 

“Laying it on a bit thick, am I?” He asked with a smile as he lifted his glass to his lips.

Jamie rolled her eyes at him and shook her head. “Darlin’, you are too sexy for your own good or for those around you.”

“Aw, but love, you never let me take you home. How could you possible know how good I am?”

“Eames, sugah, I think you know that would ruin our wonderful relationship we have going here. Not to mention a certain girl would be furious with me,” Jamie reached out and patted his cheek.

Did he mention she was gay? She had the cutest girlfriend that a man would be hard pressed to not want to just watch them kiss. He had seen them kiss and gone home to fuck the lights out of some poor girl from the turn on he’d had. 

“Um, hi. Mind if I sit here?” Came a soft male voice beside him. 

Eames turned to see the cute brunette, but before he could answer a hand rested on his shoulder and squeezed lightly.

“Actually, _I_ mind,” Arthur said.

“Wha? Oh for fucks sake,” Eames said to see the brunette already leaving.

“Bloody hell, mate. Why’d you go and do a thing like that?” 

“Cobb wants to leave tonight. We need to put a rush on this one.” Arthur tossed a five on the bar for Eames’ drink.

“I’m a much better tipper than that,” Eames said and looked expectantly at Arthur.

Arthur rolled his eyes and tossed another five down.

“Better. Jamie, love, I’ll see you in a few days,” Eames said to the bartender and gave her a wink before downing the rest of his ale.

Arthur led the way out of the bar and Eames admired the view from behind. They’d known each other for a long time and there had always been a sort of game between them. Or Eames liked to toy with him. Though recently Eames just didn’t have enough in him to take the piss out of Arthur. It wasn’t as much fun as it used to be when they were doing illegal jobs. 

Arthur’s black Sedan was out front. Posh. There was a time when Eames would have paid anything to see Arthur on a motorcycle or in denims and a t-shirt. Actually he still wouldn’t mind it. Arthur was a lot stronger than he appeared. He had military training, which was something that most people didn’t know either. That’s where they’d met. In Afghanistan, years before Dream Sharing was even… well a dream in the military’s heads. 

“So, why are we leaving so soon?” Eames asked as he buckled his seat belt. Arthur could drive like a bat out of hell at times. 

“Darlene…”

 _”Darleis,”_ Eames corrected.

“ _Darleis,_ is apparently seeing someone. The senator’s private investigator found out and also intercepted an email that she will be in town tomorrow and wants to speak with the husband to apparently break things off. The senator wants proof before he finds someone else and she has to start the process all over. Her husband is sly. Apparently he’s ex-military so we can expect some serious militarization if this goes sideways.” Arthur gave Eames a sideways glance.

“I’m going in with you on this one just in case. Cobb’s going to be setting it up for us as soon as we get there for a few trial runs,” Arthur took a sharp right onto the freeway that had Eames holding his seat for purchase. 

“I still need to pack,” Eames said. They were on the way to the airport. 

“I stopped by your apartment and grabbed you some clothes. You have your totem on you, right?” Arthur didn’t even look for it in the apartment. It was against the rules. 

Eames frowned at him. “Of course,” his hand went to his pocket to smooth over the poker chip there. “Did you enjoy going through my belongings?” 

“It was the highlight of my year. Like fondling the Crown Jewels,” Arthur said just as dry as he would if he were reading a weather report. 

“Most people consider it just as much a privilege,” Eames said. 

Arthur retrieved the files Eames had left on his desk from the dash and handed them to Eames. “You’ll need these. We added in a photo I had to dig for. I think you’ll like it. Darleis has a tattoo that I am pretty sure Stephen will know about.”

“Really?” Eames said and opened the file. 

The picture was a nude profile, her arm covered her ample breasts and she was turned looking at the camera with a; come hither smile. The tattoo was professional. The kind that costs a lot of money and probably took a good amount of time. It was of a Geisha and Sukura tree that ran down her side, over her hip and stopped just past where a short skirt would hit her thigh. 

Eames let out a low whistle. The picture was great quality and he took his time memorizing every inch of it. It was difficult to forge tattoos without a really good image. He lost just a bit where it turned to her back. He pulled the picture closer, investigating the design on the Geisha’s Kimono, smaller blossoms with mauve coloring, black sash, flawless Geisha makeup… This was going to be difficult, very difficult. 

“Think you can do it?” Arthur asked. 

“MMmm,” Eames hummed. “There’s bloody good detail here. Might have to find out where she got it done.”

“I wrote it on the back, thought you might ask.” Arthur knew Eames pretty well and that he would appreciate the work. “There’s a six month waiting list for the artist. I already put your name on it.”

“Aw, I didn’t get you anything.” Eames smiled while visions of a new tattoo danced in his head. 

They arrived at the airport where Cobb was already waiting with their tickets in hand. “We’re going to be going in tomorrow. The Senator’s husband has a dentist appointment and we’ve already got someone on the inside.”

“Really?” Eames asked with an arched brow. 

“Um, yeah,” Arthur said clearing his throat. “A girl I dated in college is the Hygienist there. She’s going to get the dentist out of the way as a favor.”

“You dated?” Eames asked. They were going through security, taking off their shoes and putting their belongings in the tub. 

Arthur stopped for a moment and decided not to rise to Eames little stabs. Cobb however couldn’t hide the smile. It was quiet in the airport, of course they were flying by way of a private jet. Security still was tight but there were very few people around. It seemed there was more security than employees.

The jet was everything you would see on tv and Eames was less than impressed. He just wanted this job over. Nothing was as good as Inception. He loved it and honestly kept his ear to the ground for another Inception job. 

On the plane, Eames listened to voicemails left by Darleis to various people as he studied both her and Stephen’s file. The largest problem they had was not knowing the intimacies of their relationship. If he was tested by Stephen he would have nothing to go on. Their love life could be very vanilla or it could be more extreme. If Stephen chose to tie her up or choke her and he pretended to enjoy it when in reality Darleis did not then the gig would be up and he’d be in a very, _very_ compromising position.

When they landed there was a car waiting for them. One of those nice black sedan’s that all politicians seemed to be given by their loyal government. One just like Arthur’s. One that Eames would never own. He’d rather drive a Mini than a black sedan. 

Jonathan met them at the hotel. He was someone they used when training a few of the higher up politicians. He had a military background and had been trained as an extractor in Dream Sharing. He would be handling the kicks if needed and administering the Somnacin on this job since Yusuf was out of town and the entire team trust Jonathan to get it done.

They set up for a trial run in Cobb’s room. Eames’ fingers smoothed over the poker chip in his pocket before he sat down on the sofa. 

*****

Eames was dressed as Darleis in a black Versace cocktail dress with matching black Manolo’s. He/she sat at the bar with her legs crossed. Arthur walked up with an appreciative smile as if wishing he were in Stephen’s shoes and getting a chance to enjoy just one night with Darleis. 

“How is it you can dress so impeccably in here and outside you look like you dress in the dark?” Arthur asked with a nod to the bartender who slid a drink to him. They were in the bar of a very nice hotel. Five stars easily. 

In Darleis’ voice Eames said; “I’m thinking that she can’t pull of denims and a t-shirt quite the way I can.”

She took a drink and turned to look at Arthur. Eames smiled sweetly and arched a brow to look Arthur slowly up and down. His usual three piece suit was neatly in place. It was black, well tailored, and as per usual he looked utterly edible. He licked the full lips of Darleis’ in a suggestive manner. 

Arthur could feel his temperature rise at the look. There was no doubt that Darleis was absolutely stunning. There was also the attraction that came with the knowledge that it was Eames inside that beautiful body. He had no issues sleeping with men or women. That was one thing he and Eames shared. Sex was about attraction, it didn’t matter what the gender was. He did however have issue with sleeping with co-workers. It was something he just didn’t do. Never did. 

“Alright, this is where we’ll start. Eames, the Senator and I will be going over the layout tomorrow morning. There will be adjoining rooms upstairs in which we’ll be waiting. You shouldn’t have to worry about getting too far. I don’t think she can handle walking in on that.” Cobb held his hand out to help Eames down from the stool she was sitting in and she took it with a smile.

They walked over to the elevator bank, with Cobb escorting Eames. Eames was amused but he played along. The rooms were on the sixth floor and Cobb led them straight to them. He stopped at room 608. “Your purse,” he said. 

Eames opened her purse to find the key card and opened the door. The room was your typical classy hotel suite. There was a small living room, not too large, those would have been reserved for the upper floors. Plush sofas, not leather but very expense, flower arrangements, solid wood furnishings and plush throw rugs over wood flooring. It was all beige and peach. Luxurious without being pretentious. 

“The Senator and I will be through this door to the next suite. We’ll be listening so as soon as it sounds like you want us to interrupt; we will.” Cobb had walked to a door that led to the adjoining suite. It was opposite the bedroom door. 

“Sounds like a plan, let’s just hope I can keep him in here. I hate when they get too eager. Not to mention that I have no idea what this woman looks like naked. There’s all kinds of things that could go wrong given the little bit of information we have on this one. Honestly, Cobb, why did you take this one?” Eames was being flooded with misgivings. There was entirely too much that could go wrong. 

“It’s a big favor that could help us get some more… interesting jobs. There’s been talk of expanding our field of operations,” Cobb was having misgivings about it, to be honest. He was happy with the work they were doing, aside from the jobs like the one they were currently on, but he knew his team was not. He didn’t want to lose them but if things looked to be delving too deep again he would have to pass. 

Arthur looked to Cobb. He hadn’t heard anything about expansion. He was bored with their current line but it was good income and kept Cobb home. Arthur, whether he liked it or not, was a part of Cobb personal life. He loved the kids and Cobb was his best friend. They’d become closer since the Inception job. Cobb had finally opened up about a lot of things that were going on with him and Arthur valued that, along with their friendship.

“Nothing is set in stone yet,” Cobb added noticing the apparent surprise on both of their faces. “Yusuf said he’d be back soon and I’d like all of us to go over what is on the table.”

“You mean, we have a say in this?” Eames asked. It wasn’t that Cobb didn’t ask them their opinion, he just mostly did all that side of the business. Though they all contributed to making LDS Architecture with a good portion of money from the Inception job. 

“Yes, but we’ll go over that after this job and when Yusuf returns from Mombasa. Eames, let’s see the tattoo,” Cobb said with his eyes already going to where the tattoo would be.

Eames arched a perfectly manicured brow and lifted her left arm to use her right hand to slowly unzip the dress on the side. It was odd having Arthur and Cobb both there while she undressed. Usually they didn’t see that part. Eames wasn’t normally shy but she didn’t flash her body or any body she was forging. 

She slowly opened the dress and let it slide down off her shoulders and to the floor. Thankfully Arthur turned away. Eames figured only one of them had to make sure he got the tattoo correct. She unlatched the bra and just opened it so she wouldn’t be exposed but left her panties in place. 

Cobb moved closer and bent over to take a good look at the work. “Is the coloring right?” he asked.

“It’s what was in the picture, however if the quality was off just a bit I could be in a lot of trouble,” Eames replied.

“The quality was very high-res,” Arthur said turning back around. He stopped talking for a moment as his eyes drank in the sight of Darleis in nothing but matching black bra and panties. “I was lucky to find it. She had it in her deleted files on her laptop. Took some major digging to find it.” 

“Aren’t we touchy? I wasn’t questioning your skills, Arthur. Just the quality of the photo. Pictures don’t often do a piece of art justice.” Eames smiled. He loved it when Arthur got defensive. It was a favorite past time of his to put him on the defensive.

“It looks good as far as I can tell, Arthur?” Cobb waved Arthur over.

Tucking his hands in his pockets, Arthur moved to stand beside the others and look over the tattoo. He cleared his throat and tried his best to be looking only at the tattoo and not the body it was on. Though the skin was flawless. It was smooth and perfect and made him want to reach his hand out to touch it. He was sure he wasn’t the only man to feel that way if they got the chance to see her naked. Or in minimal clothing as was the case then. 

“Going off memory, I can’t see anything wrong with it. It looks exactly like the photo, though…” Arthur said and pulled his right hand from his pocket. He traced the line of Sukura down Eames thigh which elicited the faintest tremor and slight gooseflesh to appear on Eames’ extremities. Arthur pulled his hand back and looked at Eames before clearing his throat and continuing. “Does it go far enough down the leg?”

Eames could feel her nipples erect beneath the bra and took a steadying breath before responding. “I believe so but I’ll check it when we get back.”

“Good, let’s go over the plan again then go and get some rest,” Cobb said.

*****

Eames sat in his hotel room looking over the files once more. He read up on some of Stephen’s ex-girlfriends and what they had to say about him. It didn’t look like he was into anything unusual, or rather… Kinkier than he was will to explore with someone who wasn’t actually someone he was interested in. It wasn’t like Stephen was unattractive. He was very attractive but looked like he was happy just living out the rest of his life as a Senator’s husband. Somewhere along the line the man had given up. 

Stephen’s military record was impeccable, two tours in the Gulf, another two in Desert Storm and some special mission that was _eyes only_. Which meant, special forces. Yes, this man’s subconscious was a potential nightmare. He wished he had Yusuf with them. Someone to bounce off his own thoughts and ideas. 

Eames sat up a little straighter and pulled out his phone. He scrolled through the names, found Yusuf’s and pressed _call_.

“This better be bloody important,” came a disgruntled voice rather loudly over the line.

“Good morning, honey. Am I disturbing you?” Eames said as he reached for the bag of peanuts he’d taken from the plane. 

“It’s four in the bloody morning, Eames. Of course you’re disturbing me. What the hell do you want?” Yusuf growled and pulled his blanket up to his chin. 

“I missed the dulcet tones of your lovely voice, of course,” Eames said. He popped a peanut in his mouth and chewed it quietly.

“I’m hanging up now,” Yusuf intoned just as his lover groaned next to him and slid his hand up his chest.

“Wait!” Eames called out and Yusuf rolled his eyes at the phone before bringing it back to his ear.

“What, Eames?”

“I’m sorry, I know Shad is there. I needed someone to talk to and you were all I could think of,” Eames did feel bad about waking Yusuf when he knew Shad was over but he hated not having his best friend to go over a job with. 

“We have a new job. Another catching a cheating bastard job,” Eames said. He put down the peanuts and rubbed his face before pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Oh,” Yusuf said. “I’m sorry. Do you think you can get out before anything happens?” He knew how much Eames was hating the jobs that entailed possible sex. His friend was fun loving and easy going but Cobb and Arthur seemed to think that equaled slut who would sleep with anything that breathed. 

“That’s the plan. But look, I know you have your arms full of gorgeous man right now…” Eames said with just a bit of jealousy. He wanted what Yusuf had with Shad. Outside of the very disapproving family that was trying to break them up at every turn. “Enjoy him while you’re there and then pack him in your suitcase and bring him here when you come.”

“If only I could,” Yusuf replied with a long gaze at the man curled around him. “Look, just keep things simple. Don’t get caught up and do your best to keep your clothes on. I’ll see you in a week, mate.” 

“See you,” Eames pressed end call and sat there looking at the screen for a few moments before setting it down on the table and heading for the shower.

*****

In the morning Eames met with Arthur and Jonathan. They went over the job again before heading out for breakfast. The restaurant was situated outside the city, close to the dentist’s office and very pricy. Eames looked at his options on the menu and decided he really wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t the prices that made him lose his appetite. He rarely ate anything before going in any more. 

Jonathan got up to meet Cobb and the Senator which left Eames sipping his overpriced, but very good coffee. Arthur watched him. He could see the changes in his old friend. Things had definitely taken a bad turn somewhere along the line and he wondered why he hadn’t seen it sooner. No one except Cobb seemed to be flourishing in their new line of work. But, even though Arthur was bored with the jobs they took he wasn’t changing. Not really. He still had his personal life and when he needed something a bit more with Dream Sharing he would go on base and work out with his enlisted friends. War games in Dream Share was one helluva rush. 

Eames however was obviously not doing any side work or side play of any kind. Arthur knew he was spending a lot of time in that bar he liked going to and when Yusuf was around they would take weekend trips to Vegas. But, other than that he didn’t think Eames really had a lot going on personally. None of them really spent a lot of time together outside the office as a whole. Arthur spent time with Cobb and the kids, Eames with Yusuf and occasionally they would see Ariadne when she was on holiday from school. Had they missed something with Eames?

“Everything alright, Eames?” Arthur asked.

Eames pulled his mind back from where it had been wandering. “Sorry, what was that?” 

“I asked if everything was alright with you.”

“Actually, just fine. I was just thinking how I would spend a few days and half my earnings in Vegas when Yusuf returned. Why?” Eames had been thinking about that, he hadn’t lied. But he didn’t include the need to find a warm body. It had been a while since he’d slept with anyone, longer since he actually dated anyone. Mombasa to be precise. 

Arthur felt that moment of; _We’re guys, he said he was fine, leave it at that._ Then there was the other part of him that felt like he knew there was something else going on with the guy who was not only his business partner but in many ways; his friend. He stared at Eames for a moment and really took inventory of his appearance. 

The slicked down hair he used to don was no longer slicked down. Not that that was a bad thing. He actually looked better with his hair just kind of doing what it wanted. It was apparent he combed and washed it of course but he looked… better. But that was the extent of better. He had lost a bit of weight, not so much that he had noticed until then, but he did notice. Also, his humor seemed to be waning a bit. Sure he still poked fun on occasion, especially at him, but not as much as he used to. 

He was about to re-ask the question when his phone rang. “Cobb,” he said before answering the phone. “Yeah,” was his greeting, one that seemed universal to anyone who called. 

Eames stopped paying attention. He knew what the call was for. His mind went back to his earlier thoughts and needing someone in his life. Yes, there was the need for immediate satisfaction but truthfully he wanted more than that. He was still staring intently at Arthur. There was a time when he truly wanted the man. He got under his skin a long time ago and he’d had many opportunities to try to do something about it but never had for what reason he really didn’t know. 

"Okay, time to go," Arthur said. He pulled out his wallet and paid their ridiculous bill. He didn't ask how things had gone so quickly with the Senator, he just figured that he'd sat in silence longer than he'd realized with Arthur. 

Once they arrived at the Dentist's office, Eames was paying full attention. He was going to meet a girl from Arthur's past and to say that didn't intrigue him was a flat out lie. He had often wondered what kind of person Arthur would go for. Sure, he noticed how he looked at an attractive woman, but they all did that. He even knew that Arthur had tried to flirt a bit with Ariadne but that never really panned out. 

The office was very nice for a Dentist's office, Eames thought. It was set up like any other doctor's office, waiting room, reception area (along with beautiful girls sitting up front) and of course magazines littering the tables. _So this is what a high end Dentist's office looks like,_ Eames thought. The chairs and sofas in the waiting room looked exceptionally plush and comfortable. Though they didn't seem to have use of them. At that moment a beautiful slender blond with blue eyes approached them with perfectly straight teeth (couldn't have crooked teeth and be a dental hygienist) and a big smile directed at Arthur. 

"Hey, handsome," she said in a sweet voice. 

Arthur smiled and opened his arms just as she did. They embraced one another and Eames hated to admit they looked good together. She was very small, and fit just perfectly under his chin. They pulled apart and he introduced her. 

"Piper, this is Dominic Cobb, Jonathan Cross and Thomas Eames." 

"Piper," Eames said when she held her hand out to him. "Pleasure," he said and kissed her knuckles.

Piper smiled. "Aren't you the charmer," she said and looked to Arthur. "You should have told me your colleagues were so attractive."

"He's really very stingy that way. He definitely didn't tell us you were so beautiful," Eames said still holding Pipers hand in his.

"Okay, that's enough," Arthur said taking Piper's hand from Eames. He didn't know why but the thought of them flirting with one another was putting him off. 

Piper laughed, a light and pure laugh that brought a chuckle even from Cobb. She had that kind of contagious laugh. 

"Arthur, you and your charming friends can follow me," Piper said still smiling.

"Anywhere, darling. Just lead the way," Eames said. 

That earned him a cross look from Arthur. He never called anyone darling but Arthur. He couldn't tell if he was doing it to goad him or just because he was laying it on that thick with Piper. Either way Arthur was definitely starting this job more than a little out of sorts. 

Eames however was all smiles as he fell in line behind Arthur's ex-girlfriend. She led them through a door next to the reception desk and down a long hall with multiple doors on each side of the hall. She stopped at the second to last one. When they went inside they found the Senator already there. Apparently she arrived just moments before they had. 

"I'll leave you all to get ready and I'll be back after I've put Mr. Callahan under," Piper said and backed out the door. 

"She really is something, Arthur. However did you land her? Or, better yet, why on earth did you let her go?" Eames asked.

Arthur was about to respond when Cobb cleared his throat rather loud. 

"Gentlemen, this is Senator Rose Callahan," Cobb said as he gestured to a very attractive woman who must have been at least forty but didn't look it. He only thought forty because that was usually the best age to enter politics and be taken seriously. She wore an impeccable pant suit in dark gray with a shirt that looked white until you looked harder to see it was actually a very pale shade of pink. She was curvy without being overly sultry but Eames thought she could pull it off in the right outfit if she tried. 

"Senator," Eames said with a smile. He received only a disdainful look and nod of her head.

"Senator, pleasure to meet you," Arthur said and extended his hand. 

"Thank you," she said in a tone that implied she was thanking him only because it was an expected response not that she actually gave a shit.

"Your team has been said to be the best, I truly hope they make better first impressions in dreams than in real life," the Senator said using that same tone but adding in an air of someone who expected things a certain way because she was in charge and she would be damned to let anyone forget it. 

Arthur shot a dirty look to Eames. He was practically wagging his tongue at Piper while meeting a woman whom had hired them to catch her cheating husband. Talk about distasteful. 

"Senator, I assure you my team will get the job done to your satisfaction," Cobb reassured her. 

"Yes, and at least you'll have the lovely idea that your husband was actually trying to get into another man's trousers," Eames said under his breath though made sure he was loud enough for her to hear. He hated uppity bitches like her. No wonder her husband was seeking attention elsewhere.

The Senator scowled at Eames and opened her mouth for what he was sure a slew of scathing remarks but Cobb interrupted. 

"Senator," he started and gave Eames a look that said they'd have it out at a later date. "Eames is the best forger in the business. Just like most artists he doesn't know when to hold his tongue, you'll have to excuse him."

"He better be good. And yes, I will be happy to know that you _both_ got to kiss another man," the Senator said hoping it would be an insult. 

Eames held his tongue but in his mind, he had numerous remarks as to what he thought of her bigoted closed mindedness. In fact, he had half a mind to grab Arthur right then and there and lay one on him that she could masturbate to later. _If she even remembered how._

After that they all sat in relative silence scowling at one another. Okay, maybe they were all just scowling at Eames but he gave as good as he got. Arthur moved to sit next to him. 

"Are we good?" he asked quietly. 

"Oh just peaches, darling. You?" Eames responded with a very bitter tone. 

"You need to shake this off before we go under."

"Thank you, Arthur. I really needed to hear that right now because I wasn't really looking forward to being completely out of sorts. Glad you're here to make things all better." Eames was pissed and taking it out on Arthur. He didn't mean to but he was. 

Arthur put a hand on Eames' knee and gave it a slight squeeze. They never did the touchy feely thing, so that one touch was enough to completely shock and confuse and… do other things to Eames. He looked up into Arthur's dark eyes. They held each other's gaze for what felt like hours. Just staring into one another, Arthur's hand still on his knee and all the tension and anger he was feeling towards the bitch on the other side of the room just melted away. 

Eames could see things in Arthur's eyes. It was like staring into a lover's eyes as you made love slowly. The kind of making love that involved nothing but the soft slow glide into one another and the catch of breath as you stared into the eyes of the one person who knew you better than anyone else. The person who knew how to bring you with nothing more than slow build up and _that_ look. Eames felt things low in his body stir and the only thing on his mind was how it would feel to really and truly see that look as it was meant to be seen. 

There was a knock at the door and Piper was sticking her head in. "It's time," she said. Her eyes fell to where Arthur's hand was on Eames' knee and smiled. 

Arthur removed his hand slowly, letting his fingers trail until just his fingertips were finally breaking contact. "Ready," he said and stood. 

Eames stood right behind him and they all exited the room. 

Jonathan, Eames and Arthur all brought chairs with them and when they entered the room where the Senator's husband was already knocked out, the Senator moved next to him. She glowered down at him. There was no other word for the way she looked at him. There was no love in that one look, just pure unadulterated disgust. Their marriage had been over for a long time. It was obvious that this was just that last nail to finally be done with him without a big media nightmare. 

Jonathan set everything up, Arthur locked the door and Cobb and Eames went about pulling out the lines needed to hook everyone up to the PASIV. Cobb and the Senator went in first to be sure they were out of view and locked away in the adjoining hotel room to Eames' and Stephen, Eames and Arthur went under just minutes after

*****

Eames sat in the same barstool she had in the trial run. Her legs crossed and her back to the room. Arthur was at the opposite side of the bar. Stephen was walking in and his eyes were almost to Eames when he turned his gaze to just past Eames. 

Darleis came walking up to him from the lobby. 

"Shit, he's seen his own projection of her first," Arthur cursed quietly. They were all wearing comms and Arthur was already shouting in his ear. Eames was trying to turn as discreetly as she could to catch Arthur's eye. Unfortunately her movement also attracted Stephen's gaze. He looked confused and everyone in the bar looked to Eames. 

Arthur moved quickly. He stood behind Eames' stool and turned her around to him. 

Stephen started walking towards them with Darleis right behind. There was nothing left to do, Arthur bent down, held Eames' face cupped in both hands and bent down to kiss her. The kiss started slow and built until they were kissing thoroughly. Teeth scraped against one another, tongues tangled and Eames lost himself for just a moment until one of Arthur's hands moved to his thigh. The tattoo. See needed to change her appearance slowly and that would take concentration.

Concentration however, was not easy to come by with Arthur's hand sliding further up her thigh and his tongue delving into her mouth. Her body was reacting. She was becoming aroused, wet and each touch was making her quiver slightly. 

A hand touched Arthur's shoulder and he could be damned to care about it. He knew he should but he couldn't stop kissing Eames. He knew it was Eames but the body was that of some beautiful woman he would never know. The hand pulled and Arthur growled as he parted from Eames.

Eames had managed to change just barely. He kept the black hair but his eyes had turned deep brown, his facial structured changed as well. His nose just a bit smaller, his lips not so full and his brows with a more defined arch to them.

"Sorry," Stephen said. "Just thought…" he shook his head as if trying to shake off a thought. "You know there are some great rooms you might want to check into," he nodded to the rest of the projections that were still looking, but now less of a projection looking for the dreamer as looking because it had also intrigued Stephen. 

Arthur gave him a look that said he didn't like the interruption but he changed it slowly into one of appreciation. "You're right. I just," he said and returned his gaze to Eames. "She has a way of driving me insane."

"I know what you mean," Stephen said with a glance back at Darleis who was smiling at them all. "Sorry again, for the interruption."

"No problem," Arthur said with one shake of his head from side to side. He turned back to Eames and put his mouth to her ear. "Mark is on his own," he said.

"Eames," Cobb said over the comms. "Follow him, we need to know where he's going to." 

Arthur's head turned to the lobby. "He's at the desk getting a room."

"Right," Eames said and jumped down from the stool to go change. 

She moved towards the lobby but ducked into the entry to the restrooms. No one was there so with a thought Eames was Eames again. Though he was dressed in a three piece black suit and his hair was back to its usual slicked down style. He moved quickly enough to see Stephen and Darleis heading for the elevators. He hurried behind them and barely jumped into the elevator before it shut its doors. 

He nodded to them. Looking at the panel of floors to select from only the top floor was selected. Penthouse. He selected eight, which was only two floors below the penthouse and waited. They were quietly talking about how long it had been since they'd seen one another. Unlike some of the other jobs they had, this couple was very reserved. Stephen held his arm around her, more in a true couple fashion than his mistress. 

Eames got out on eight and as soon as the doors closed he was heading for the stairs. "They're in the penthouse, any ideas?"

Arthur had followed and was in an elevator. He'd pressed six not knowing how far up he was going and figured it was a safe bet to go there. He pushed nine.

"I'm on my way. Cobb, you and the Senator better hurry."

"We're already at the elevators." Cobb was damn near pulling the Senator along.

"I thought you said your team was good," she was complaining.

"We are the best, Senator. But, the dreamer, as I told you fills the dream with his own projections and he projected Darleis before he saw Eames. Now we just have to get up there and catch him." Cobb was furious. He knew this could happen, hell it had happened before. But from the sounds of it this was a casual affair. Casual gives them time to insert themselves, a true affair where he may have feelings for his mistress means he thinks about her constantly and therefore he projected her immediately in his dream. 

He didn’t say any of that simply because no wife wants to hear her husband is in love with another woman. Cheating is one thing, but falling in love is another. It could be that they were more constant than surveillance had shown, but this felt like something more. 

"On the penthouse floor," Eames said. He reached in his pocket to find a key and slid it into the lock on the door. 

"Wait for us, Eames. We're almost there," Cobb said.

Quick steps sounded in the stairwell ascending to his position and Eames turned to see Arthur rounding the floor beneath him. They held each other's gaze for a moment when a door opened and closed beneath them and Cobb was leading the Senator up.

The Senator glared at Eames and he gave her an endearing smile in return. He loved getting her panties in a twist. Though he imagined he could do nothing compared to what was waiting for them in that Penthouse. 

Cobb looked to Eames and waited a moment before clearing his throat to catch his eye. He could see the reluctance in his friends eyes at the thought of breaking eye contact with the Senator, but his ego could stand being brought down a notch or two. Finally he looked at him and Cobb gave him the slightest of nods.

Eames turned the key and opened the door as quietly as he could. The hotel Penthouse was set up to have a small hallway that ran between two doors containing two Penthouses. It was a layout for a hotel Cobb had visited in Cairo. Now they were left to decide which way to go. Left or right. If they break down the door then Stephen would be alerted to their presence no matter which room he was in. And if he was alerted, whether he knew he was in a dream or not his security would kick into overdrive. The only way this worked was if they got him before the dream collapsed. 

Arthur tilted his head to the left. His eyes glanced down and they all in turn followed his gaze. On the door, very close to the floor was a shoe scuff. It is something that housekeeping would see to immediately if found. Which means it was left there very recently. Thank God for cream paint. 

With one swift movement out the door, Arthur was on his way to the Penthouse that had the Senator's husband and mistress. He listened at the door, heard voices and crooked his head to the left to motion the rest of them to him. 

Eames changed yet again, this time into a dark haired, non-descript man in a neat black uniform with a security badge. Everyone backed out of view of the peephole and he knocked on the door. "Security," he said in a very _security for hire_ kind of voice. 

The giggling in the room stopped. There were voices and the man came to the door. Eames saw the peephole go dark and made sure to give the man an authoritative gaze. He heard Stephen's voice telling Darleis it'll just be a minute and he opened the door. It took a moment for him to unlatch the locking mechanisms and he opened the door just a bit. Eames was surprised he even opened the door without asking what the problem was, but he did and Eames wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever that meant. 

"Can I help you?" Stephen asked. He was already without his shirt and his hair was mussed just enough to signify they were getting serious before the knock at the door interrupted them.

"Yes sir, I'm afraid we have a problem with your check in," Eames stated. He could only assume that Stephen would use an alias. He would have to, and they never used Darleis' name. In fact they knew how often she flew into DC but could never locate where it was she stayed. 

"What's that?" Stephen asked, concern causing the slightest worry line to show above his brow line. It actually made him a bit more handsome. 

"The fact that you checked in in the first place," came the Senator's voice as she stepped into Stephen's line of sight. 

"I'm sorry, sir. She was rather… _demanding_ ," Eames said to try to keep up the illusion that this was reality and not a dream.

There was no stopping the bitch on wheels though. She shoved the door open and Stephen could do nothing but stand back and let her enter. Eames could see Darleis already grasping for her scattered clothing when the door flew open. He arched a brow and looked to Cobb for direction. 

Cobb looked at his watch. "We have another ten minutes. Let's hope she gets out what she needs to." 

Eames looked back to the open doorway where Stephen was giving him a look that could kill. All Eames could do was return the look with an apathetic one of his own. He felt sorry for the man. Especially considering that Darleis was very likely going to be in DC later that day to end their affair. Or… that was what they suspected. Eames was actually hoping that Darleis would offer him a chance to truly be with her. Call him a romantic but he believed in love. Contrary to popular belief, he wasn't completely and totally egocentric.

They all waited in the hallway and pretended not to hear the argument on the other side of the door. It was rather heated and at one point Eames heard Darleis say that she should leave and the Senator chose that moment to show her true nature. She called the woman a whore and apparently Stephen had to restrain her because there was a piece of furniture upturned and him telling her not to try that again. Maybe she was going after Stephen, but Eames had a sneaking suspicion that she was trying to hurt Darleis. He really hated this part of the job. 

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien no longer signified their time was almost up. Cobb decided to change the tune after the Fischer job. Now they were exposed to more of Cobb's wonderful world of music Eames had never heard before but could not get out of his mind. Vitas, Lucia Di Lammermoorr started playing. Not exactly as gentle as the other song, but definitely catchy. Eames had found out the name of the song and enjoyed the youtube video immensely. Vitas, himself was attractive as were the blond violinists that accompanied him in the video.

"Time," Arthur said. 

"I say let them go at it until we get pulled out," Eames intoned. He did not want to go into that room. 

Cobb thought the idea had merit but decided it was best to get the Senator out before things got nasty. Luckily they were alone on the floor, but that could change if the projections started becoming agitated because Stephen himself felt threatened. In truth they should be getting backlash from it any moment. 

Cobb shook his head. "Get her out." 

Eames pursed his lips, gave a growl and knocked again on the door. "Senator, it's time to go. I think this has gone far enough. Again, the authoritative tone with an edge of annoyance that was very authentic.

The arguing stopped and this time the footsteps approaching the door were almost stomps but a bit staggered. The door opened and Stephen had the Senator's upper arm in his hand. "I said we'll discuss this at home, Rose." With that Stephen damn near threw her out of the room. Eames coughed to cover his smile with his hand. 

The Senator glared at him. Her face was flushed with anger and her hair was not as perfect as it was moments ago. Eames knew he should have felt pity for her but instead he felt as if this woman got what she deserved. He was good at reading people. Stephen was someone he would have probably liked. The Senator was not. 

The music grew in sound and the next moment Eames was waking in the chair in the dentist's office. Jonathan was unhooking him and retracting the line. "Go okay?"

"Not even fucking close," Eames growled. 

"Not now," Cobb said in that _we're gonna talk about this later_ voice. 

Jonathan went about unhooking the Senator when she woke as the others unhooked their own lines. As soon as she was able she stood. She swayed a bit before walking over to the still sleeping Stephen and slapped him square in the jaw. 

*****


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little back history on Eames and Arthur. I have no military knowledge so I reserve my right to claim artistic license. Also, just a bit of angst when someone comes in uninvited to Eames' dream.

"So the job was a clusterfuck?" Yusuf asked as he waved his empty bottle at Jamie who in turn winked at him and grabbed both him and Eames another beer.

"Not totally. We got paid of course. But that Senator would have rather not paid if she could have gotten away with it. I think she was afraid of us _leaking_ her personal affairs. All pun intended." Eames traded his empty bottle for the full one Jamie brought over. He gave her one of his _come hither_ smiles and she rolled her eyes at him before taking Yusuf's empty bottle.

When Jamie turned and walked back to the bar, both Yusuf and Eames watched her cute ass which she wiggled just a bit more for their enjoyment. Which they did. Then they each sighed, took a drink from their fresh, ice cold beer and looked back to each other. 

"Bloody woman makes me even appreciate the view," Yusuf quipped. 

"That's because someone like her makes all species stop and take notice. Besides, you may have a boyfriend but that doesn't mean you're dead. How is Shad by the way?" Eames leaned back in his rather uncomfortable wooden chair. He thought of Arthur and how he always leaned back. Eames mimicked his movement, leaning far enough back to lift the front legs off the floor.

“He’s brilliant of course. But you already knew that. You better call him sometime at least to thank him for your shirts,” Yusuf said. As much as he hated to admit it, Yusuf’s boyfriend designed clothes. He was to blame for many of the off color shirts that Eames wore. Though in truth, his clothes did look amazing on the catwalk and when paired with the appropriate jacket or trousers. Shad had interned with Boateng. That was where he had developed his wonderful eye for color. 

“Of course, you know I always do,” Eames intoned with an affronted look on his face. He knew the price of Shad’s clothing and also knew that if he and Yusuf weren’t best friends he would never get free clothes. 

“Now that we are finished veering off subject; tell me what happened with Arthur.” Yusuf gave Eames a look that said he was done beating around the proverbial bush and he needed to know what had transpired. 

Eames took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out very slowly. He had only ever confided in Yusuf about his feelings towards the one man he had been shot down years ago. Even so, he never told him the full story of how they met and he figured it was time that he did so.

“I never really told you how we met,” Eames said.

“In the military, wasn’t it?” Yusuf asked.

“Yes, but the actual particulars are top secret so I can’t fully disclose everything that happened,” Eames had been in the SAS and part of being SAS or Former SAS was never revealing you were SAS or any of the particulars of any missions you happened to be on. He was about to break that rule and could easily be locked away in a tiny box for saying anything. 

“Let’s finish this beer and go somewhere I feel safer talking about this,” Eames made it a point to look around at the very public place they were in. The bar was mostly empty, but he really didn’t fancy a life of solitary confinement. 

They finished their beers, tipped Jamie nicely and headed for Eames’ apartment. The apartment was nice without being classy or trashy. There was an entry hall with a small table where unopened mail sat in a silver tray and the keys Eames laid down upon entry. After the hallway was a large living area that was sparsely furnished. One large leather sofa, two leather armchairs, a coffee table, end table (between the armchairs) took up the center of the room. Against one wall was a large flat screen tv with a shelf underneath that housed his bluray, stereo and random discs. Another wall housed two bookcases filled with all manner of novels. Past the living room was a small dining area with a large window that viewed the courtyard and swimming pool. 

The apartment was free of anything you could find to identify Eames’ personality. The only decoration was a print of Shimmering Substance by Jackson Pollock. There were no pictures, no albums, no throw pillows or blankets, even the books were of such wide variety that you couldn’t tell what he preferred to read. It was as if he went into a bookstore and selected books at random to just fill the shelves. 

Eames pulled out his own PASIV stored under the end table. Dreams just didn’t come naturally any longer and just like any other Dream Sharer, Eames needed to go under to dream. 

“Ugh,” Yusuf said staring down at the machine. He didn’t go under as much as the others. He liked his dreams in his own head, thank you very much. 

“I’m sorry, Yusuf. The things I need to say to you can’t be chanced being overheard by anyone. This is the safest place I can think of to tell you what happened.” Eames could have shown him, but in truth he hated bringing memories into a dream. He had seen more than one instance of memories tearing a life apart. Cobb had no idea how lucky he was to still be a part of the waking world.

He set up the PASIV between the armchairs and motioned for Yusuf to sit. He pulled out one lead and handed it to his friend and pulled another out for himself. Eames sat in the other armchair and within moments they were both entering his dream.

They were sitting on the steps of a cathedral more grand and beautiful than any Yusuf had ever seen. It had tall spires with Gothic inspiration, stained glass windows much like the Jackson Pollock in Eames’ apartment, high wooden doors that seemed to come from a castle in some fairy tale. The buildings surrounding the Cathedral were made of the same light colored stone, and the fountain… There were no words that could describe its beauty. The Fontana di Trevi paled in comparison to the masterpiece. There was a male icon in the center with perfect proportions tilting an urn that spilled crystal water down a rock path that led to more sculptures of nymphs spilling down into yet more sculptures finally bathing in the base of the fountain. 

“If the others knew you could build like this they would make you an architect,” Yusuf said in appreciation. 

“No, they wouldn’t,” Eames said in a sad tone. He didn’t need to elaborate. Yusuf knew his talents were very specific and very difficult to find. 

The streets were empty and though it was beautiful, it made it seem a bit eerie. A place such as the one Eames had created was meant to be seen and shared. Enjoyed. But there was no one anywhere.

“It was in Afghanistan when I was in the SAS,” Eames started. He stared at the fountain, watching the water as it flowed from top to bottom. “Arthur was part of Delta. Apparently we were both given intel on one bad sonofabitch. The plan was to go in dark and fast, retrieve the subject and be out before any alarms were raised. We were there, all set to go in when the bloody Americans showed up. We saw them, they saw us. Nobody was going in as we sat there in stalemate in the dead of the night. 

My CO and Arthur met and were discussing who had the right to the bastard inside. I got tired of waiting and went in. Unfortunately the Americans thought this to be quite unfair and gave away my location with a warning shot over my head. Alarms went up, I nearly got killed trying to get out of there and that my friend is a real clusterfuck.

The next day was like a battle of wills as my CO and Arthur decided to blame one another for nearly getting me killed. It truly pissed me off and their Delta team and our SAS team were in too close a proximity during this meeting. I can’t say who threw the first punch but by the time the officers made it outside we were all good and bloody. The men were separated and Arthur walked right up to me and smiled before gathering his men and leaving. 

My CO called me in and said that he was being forced to suspend me pending a review. That was what that shit eating grin Arthur had given me was about. He wanted my ass for trying to complete my bloody mission.” Eames paused there and pulled a pack of fags out of his jacket and lit one with a gold lighter.

“I thought you quit,” Yusuf said.

“I did, I only ever smoke in here. Better for the body,” Eames took a long draw off the fag. It was the same brand he had smoked when enlisted. 

“That night my CO came to our barracks, new location, same target. He looked at me still laying on my bunk and said; _Would you like an engraved invitation?_ and just like that I was off suspension and we were going in hard and fast. No fucking around no matter what. 

When we got there, the security was even tighter than before. But he sent me in and I had our target in bagged and tagged before they knew what hit them,” Eames had a big smile on his face as he took another draw off his fag. 

“When we got ten clicks out we came across the Americans. And there was Arthur,” Eames remembered looking at him and smiling. _Just a bit late, Darling,_ he had said to him. “having it out again with my CO and asking what the hell I was doing on a mission. Of course that sat well and the shade of red my CO’s face turned was even visible at o dark thirty. 

Back at base the higher ups were all trying to claim the target and who had rights to him. As it turned out we ended up having to share him with those bloody egotistical Americans. But God bless our CO, he had me do the interrogation. And of course the Americans had Arthur for their interrogator. I sat in that room with him and our target and watched him tear this guy down. You have no bloody idea how amazing he is in a room. I have to say I was more than a little turned on watching him operate. Together we got more intel off of him than we would have alone. I can admit that. We made a great team in there and after all was said and done he invited me over for drinks.

We got pissed together and he had to ask how it was I got off my suspension. All I could tell him of course was that I was the best the SAS had to offer. There were others who were good but not as good as I was. That seemed to impress him and at one point I thought… I could swear he was looking me over. I of course made my move and he informed me that he wasn’t interested. Simple as that. 

Years later I am called in for a job and there he was. Cobb had heard I was the best forger out there and when introduced I could see the reluctance in Arthur’s face. He even pulled Cobb aside and apparently lost the argument to find another forger. The rest you know. I’ve done a lot of jobs with him and Cobb before Inception.”

Yusuf took it all in. It explained a bit of their angst with one another. Though not all of it. “And what happened on this last job?”

“Arthur kissed me,” Eames said casually. Though inside he was remembering the feel of his lips on his own and casual didn't begin to explain how he felt. 

“He what?” Yusuf asked incredulously.

“I was all ready to go. Darleis’ body in place and then the damn mark projected his mistress before seeing me. Arthur acted fast and was on me in no time. The kiss though…” Eames was still thinking about it a week later. He hadn’t let himself go into a dream to recall the scenario but he had wanted to.

“Tell me honestly, Eames, do you have feelings for Arthur?” Yusuf had wanted to ask that question for quite some time. The banter between the two seemed more sexual tension than anything else. 

“He is the only person I wanted that turned me down. I’m not saying that to be arrogant, what I mean is that all those years ago, I really wanted him. I wanted _something_ with him,” Eames sounded as if he were searching for the right way to explain. He pushed out the fag on the step and looked at Yusuf. 

“You know me. I don’t really do casual too often. But anyone that I’ve really wanted to date has always said yes and we have a nice run. Arthur not only said no he seemed to be dead set against it. I don’t know if that’s why I obsess over him or if it’s something more.”

“You’re going to have to figure that out, mate. We’ve been working together for more than a short time and… Is that what your problem is? You seem unlike yourself. You don’t seem to be the old you any longer. Perhaps you are letting your emotions get the better of you.” There were times Yusuf had thought to ask Eames of he wanted to just go back to Mombassa. He of course could be closer to Shad but that wasn’t all. Eames was in much better condition physically as well as mentally before the Fischer job. 

“Maybe. Partly. I don’t know. I know a great part of it is the boredom. I’m tired of these jobs. I’m tired of being pimped out. At first I didn’t mind and thought it was even kind of fun. Now I want some real bloody intrigue. Some difficulty and… Inception. I want to do it again. I know I shouldn’t but I do.” 

Their time was up and Eames and Yusuf both were waking in Eames apartment. “I always hate the transition. I don’t know how you do it as often as you do.” Yusuf tugged at his IV then rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palm. 

“This isn’t Afghanistan, you know?” Yusuf said.

“Pardon me,” Eames said giving Yusuf a confused look.

“I mean, perhaps there were reasons he said no. You were both obviously too busy to start something. Maybe now is the right time.” Yusuf actually could see them together. The tension between the two was unmistakable. 

Eames thought about the moment they shared before going into the dream. The way they had stared at each other occupied even more of his thoughts than the kiss. That moment he could see them making love. He could feel the slow press of one into the other. He’d tossed off more than once to that thought. 

“I don’t know, Yusuf. I… just don’t know.” 

*****

Ariadne had gotten off the plane and went straight to LDS Engineering. She snickered when she thought of their name for their company. LDS. It reminded her of one of the original Star Trek movies her father loved watching. She couldn’t remember which one it was, just that Kirk and crew had gone back in time to get a whale and Spock kept using the word _hell_ and Kirk tried to explain it that he had taken too much LDS in the sixties. 

She and Dom talked and he invited her to stay with him and the kids, as he did every time, but she declined, as she did every time, so she could spend some time in the city and have fun. Her brain needed the break from school and partying a bit in the states was always fun. In Paris she didn’t have access to Dream Sharing. It wasn’t exactly like there were café’s for that sort of thing. So whenever she was in the states Dom would let her come to the office and maybe even join a job or two. 

As she was leaving she saw Eames in his office. He was hooked up and already deep in a dream. She smiled. _Maybe I’ll just go surprise him_ , she thought. 

She was in a beautiful hotel bar. She looked around and couldn’t see him but then again he could be anyone. _Did he forge even in his own dreams?_ Then she caught sight of Arthur. _He wasn’t hooked up when I came in._ She watched as he walked towards a stunning woman with black hair and the most amazing blue eyes. 

Eames held his breath. The dream was a bit different then what had happened before. This time Arthur was walking towards him from where Stephen had been seated. There was a dark lust filled look in his eyes and when he reached her…. The kiss was intense. Arthur’s mouth closed on hers just as before. Warm lips, hot tongue… All of it driving her utterly mad. 

This time when Arthur’s hand went to her thigh he pressed himself between her legs. She opened to him and her dress rode up her thighs. A soft moan escaped her throat and Arthur moaned in response. Every thrust of his tongue into her mouth tightened her body and made her quiver in need. She could feel his hand gripping her thigh and his hard length pressed against the moistness between her legs. She was clinging to him, grasping onto what she hoped would be a completion of what was interrupted before. 

Arthur’s hand slid over the top of her thigh to press between her legs. Eames gasped, tearing her mouth from his and throwing her head back as his fingers pushed aside her panties. He slid his fingers between her lips, rubbing her up and down over her hardened clitoris. Eames felt the world shift. Her entire body was growing tighter, stringing up in a wanton ball of desire and need. Arthur… Arthur knew exactly what to do. He kissed at the length of her exposed neck then bit where her shoulder met and applied slow pressure until she was screaming and coming in a hot wash over his hand between her legs. 

She reached between them, tearing at his trousers. She wanted… no needed to feel him inside her. Filling her with his body and thrusting until they both were a wet mess. 

Ariadne was in shock and she gasped to see what was about to happen. 

The gasp drew Eames’ gaze. Everything stopped. Both Eames and Arthur were staring at the intruder with pure anger. 

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Eames asked in Darleis’ voice. 

“I’m sorry, I thought…” Ariadne tried to explain away her intrusion but couldn’t find the words. She had just witness Eames dreaming of Arthur having sex with him as a girl. _What the fuck?_

The rest of the projections in the dream suddenly seemed aware of what was going on. Eames pulled a gun from Arthur’s jacket and shot Ariadne in the head then turned it on himself. Eames growled as he yanked the iv out of his arm and glared at a gasping Ariadne. 

“What gives you the bloody right to trespass in my dream?” Eames yelled. 

“I only meant to surprise you, I’m sorry, Eames. Really…” Ariadne had not meant to catch Eames in anything so… so…. Well yeah.

“You think just because what you did to Cobb worked out that it gives you the right to just prance around any of our dreams any time your little heart desires? It was fucked up then and it’s fucked up now. You have no bloody right to just insert yourself into someone else’s personal dreams."

Eames was beyond angry. He had moved around his desk and was standing over Ariadne with nothing but barely contained rage on his face. "You have no fucking boundaries, Ariadne and right now I just want you the fuck out of my office before I forget you’re a lady.” Eames was shaking mad. He had been avoiding going into the dream to live out his little fantasy and when he finally gave into what he wanted he was witnessed by the fucking tourist. Which was all he really considered her. 

Ariadne could do nothing but shake her hands in front of her and back out of Eames’ office. Her mind however was taking all of it in. She was working overtime thinking about what she had seen and the consequences it could have on the rest of the group. They were going under constantly and whatever was going on with Eames could effect the team, just as Cobb’s obsession had nearly cost them all. 

She couldn’t decide who she should talk to first. Cobb or Arthur? They both needed to know but she didn’t know how Arthur would take it if she talked to Cobb first. But then she really thought that considering Cobb was in charge of their team and had been through something similar that maybe he was the better choice. 

With that in mind she left and went to check into a hotel. Once there she called Cobb and asked if she could come over and that she had something to discuss with him. He of course invited her to dinner with the kids and said they could talk while the kids played after dinner. 

Dinner involved a rather fun game with the kids where as they would try to spell words with their peas and Dom would promise them ice cream for whomever had the correct spelling of a word and ate all of their dinner. It was cute and Ariadne joined in the fun spelling out dreams with her peas. 

After dinner they sat on the back porch and watched the kids play on the swing set. 

“So, what did you need to talk to me about?” Cobb asked before telling Phillipa not to push James so high. 

“Eames is fantasizing about Arthur,” Ariadne said, deciding that going to the meat of the matter was better than beating around the bush. 

Cobb nearly spit out his wine he was sipping. “What?” He asked. “How do you know?” 

“When I was leaving your offices earlier I saw him hooked up to a PASIV and I thought I would surprise him so I joined in,” she stated very matter of factly.

“You what?” Cobb asked with an accusatory glance.

“I didn’t mean to walk into something so… Risqué. Honestly I didn’t think I would see _that_.” She truly was disturbed seeing Eames in a female forge getting it on with Arthur. 

“Ariadne, you can’t just keep inserting yourself into people’s dreams,” Cobb said. He leaned forward placing his elbows on his knees. 

Ariadne scoffed. “If I hadn’t last time…” 

“Yes,” Cobb said interrupting her. “It doesn’t make it any more right. You seem to think that you have the right to just do whatever you wish. Granted,” he said holding up his hand to stop her interruption. “It helped me get through my own personal demons but it was still wrong. You _invaded_ my personal mind and now you’ve done it again. This time to Eames.”

“He was a woman!” Ariadne said. “He was in a hotel bar forged as a beautiful woman with black hair. Like he knows Arthur would never go for a guy so he gave him what he would go for. He’s obsessed!” 

Cobb gave a look of realization. “It was the last job. Eames had to forge a woman and things went wrong and Arthur and he had a pretty heavy make out session. So what if he fantasizes about it? It’s natural.” Cobb could understand completely. They were both available and both bi-sexual, though apparently Ariadne didn’t know that about Arthur and he wasn’t about to reveal that to her. 

“Still, Cobb… You have to admit it’s not good that he’s obsessing about Arthur this way. That job was how long ago?” 

“Two weeks,” Cobb answered.

“Two weeks and he’s still going into his dreams to live out a little fantasy with Arthur. If you haven’t noticed he’s not looking that well. Eames has lost weight. This is going to become a problem and the last thing you want is for it to blow up on a job like before.” Ariadne was confident in her self-righteousness. So much so that Cobb had the distinct desire to tell her off. But he wouldn’t. Just as he hadn’t before simply because it had all worked out in the end.

“Look, we have a strict rule in the office. No one… _No one_ invades each others dreams. That’s why Eames felt secure doing it at work. You broke that trust and in doing so you’ve broken something between the team and I’m going to have to fix it. Are you really the type of person who does not believe in privacy? You stick your nose into everyone else’s affairs and don’t believe in the consequences. I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with Eames before tonight but I hope you realize that it’s probably gone. No matter how this turns out.”

Ariadne left shortly after. She hugged the kids and decided that she really needed to think about how to approach Arthur. She had told Cobb that he needed to at least tell Arthur and that if he didn’t she would. She was in town for two weeks and she’d check in with Arthur before she left and if he didn’t know then she would tell him. It was only right that he knew one of his coworkers was obsessing over him.

*****

“What?” Yusuf said in a tone that suggested he could not have heard what Eames said correctly.

“Ariadne invaded my dream at work and saw me with my projection of Arthur.” Eames was still fuming. In fact he was currently pacing in Yusuf’s living room. 

“Bloody hell. What were you doing?” Yusuf asked. 

Eames gave him a look. 

“Ohh,” Yusuf tried not to let the shock fill his face but knew he had never learned to school his features as well as Eames. At work, Eames was as normal as ever. There was no difference in his mannerisms to hint that he was having an internal issue over Arthur. He didn’t avoid him or seek him out. It was just business as usual. Yusuf could never do that. 

“What a bloody bitch,” Yusuf finally said.

“My thoughts exactly,” Eames agreed. Just then his phone whistled at him alerting him of a text. 

**Cobb:**  
 _Ariadne just came to see me. Do we need to talk?_

“That fucking twat,” Eames cursed and rapidly hit reply. 

**Me:**  
 _Hell bloody no!_

**Cobb:**  
 _I understand. Don’t shoot the messenger. Just thought you should know her next stop will be Arthur if I don’t tell him first._

**Me:**  
 _Do what you have to, Dom. I don’t blame you. Rather you than her, any way. And keep that bitch away from me._

**Cobb:**  
 _Will do. I’m sorry._

Yusuf was trying to look over Eames’ shoulder until the conversation seemed to be done and Eames just handed him the phone for easier reading. 

“Oh my god,” Yusuf said after reading the texts. Yusuf had half a mind to call Ariadne and ask her what she thought she was doing. This was so beyond ridiculous that he didn’t know what to make of it. He had actually liked her and right at that moment she was every colorful name Eames was currently calling her in his living room.

“I should have expected this. She thinks she’s saving us all and in reality all she’s succeeding in doing is making it worse on all of us,” Eames sat down finally. He felt defeated. It wasn’t that he was like a school girl with her crush about to be revealed. It was that this was an adult situation that was going to cost him his job and possibly a friend. Just because he had to go and fantasize about someone he knew he could never have. 

“Two bloody weeks,” Eames said with a deep mournful sigh. “I was doing so good not bringing him into a dream. I finally decided to just get it out of my system and this is what I get. I’m a damn fool.”

“No, you’re not. We can’t help who we’re attracted to. I thought Shad was straight when I met him,” Yusuf said. 

Eames gave Yusuf an incredulous look. “He’s a fashion designer!?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t put out that _gay_ vibe. And I also thought there was no way on earth I could ever go out with him. He is too far out of my league.” 

“Yusuf, you are bloody gorgeous. And Shad was smart enough to see that and ask you out or you would likely still be wanking to thoughts of him instead of fucking him.” Eames had to smile. His best friend had the most amazing relationship. It was like Dom and Mal when she was alive. They were perfect together. 

The smile slowly dissipated. “If things get too awkward… I’m going back to Mombassa. I won’t work where I can’t be myself.” The irony of that sentence hit a little too close to home.

“If you go, I go. I like it here but I’d be just as happy back home.” Yusuf really did miss his old business and his home. 

“I thought Shad was finally moving here?” Eames asked.

“He is going to buy an apartment in New York. He’ll still be based out of Mombassa. We’ll actually see each other more if I move back. His visits here are going to be thin through fashion season.” Yusuf sighed. He hated not being at the shows with Shad. It meant a lot to his lover when he was there with him. 

Eames nodded. Everything was happening because he just _had_ to have that bloody dream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are shiny love. So are Kudos. Together they make me very happy. 8D


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LDS engineering is about to find out what the government wants them for.

“Finally we get to hear about what the government wants to use us for,” Arthur said. He had tried on several occasions to get Dom to tell him what was in the works but he evaded answers saying he needed the okay to discuss it with them. 

Their offices had seen a lot of traffic that morning as government agents swept their offices for bugs and set up anti listening devices in every corner of their offices including ventilation. Whatever it was, it was secret enough to warrant the precautions.

“Yeah, well I couldn’t tell you guys anything until I was given the go ahead from DC.” Cobb handed out portfolios to each of them labeled Eyes Only. 

“As you all know, terrorism is a constant threat now in the US. What the government is suggesting is a bit dangerous and I want you all to know that if we take this on I will not be accompanying you into the field that often. I made this business with the hopes that I would be home more. I will be here keeping tabs on everything but it’s you three that will be in the field. So if you can live with that then we’ll continue and I’ll let you know what’s on the table.”

Eames looked at the cover of his folder but didn’t open it. None of them had. He thought about what Cobb was saying and realized what was in that folder was spy work. The government was going to use them to spy on their enemies. If it wasn’t them it would be some other team that could likely really fuck things up. 

“If what’s in this folder is what I think it is…” Eames started with his hand on the folder. “I’m willing to go forward with you not going on sight. You have a family, Dom. Phillipa and James are you’re first priority.”

Yusuf nodded though he wasn’t sure he wanted any part of this yet. He didn’t go under for a reason. “I would rather not have to go into any dreams. Same as now. But I’ll be there for these two.”

“Agreed,” Arthur finally answered. He looked around the table, his eyes falling on each of his co-workers. “I trust you guys. We can handle anything they throw our way.

“Well then, let’s see what our first job is,” Cobb said and they all opened the folders in front of them.

In the file was the name of a suspected arms dealer in Turkey. The job was going to gather as much Intel as possible on his operations, including lines of transport, paid government officials, weapons storage. There were photos and Intel on many of the lower ranks in the operation with no substantial information on how these people got paid or who they reported to. 

“This is a bloody nightmare,” Eames said.

“You can say that again,” Arthur agreed. 

They were both ex-military and neither one of them had seen such a sparse file. If they’d been given this kind of job while in service it would have laughed at and tossed back until they were given more information. 

“Basically we’re gathering the Intel for our old comrades who will actually be going in and getting the real job done, am I right?” Eames asked.

“Exactly,” Cobb said. “There should never be a time when you are putting your life on the line. I won’t have that. The government is not going to use us as targets.” 

“Only this time we’re using dreams to gather the information. Do they realize how many laws we’ll be breaking, not to mention treaties?” Arthur asked.

“I think they are hoping the end result will be worth the means it took to get there.” Cobb didn’t like that part either. 

“Pay?” Eames asked. Everyone looked at him. “What? If we’re going to risk our necks I want to be well paid. Not to mention, if we’re caught. I’m sure the American government will be all too happy to play naïve and hang us out to dry.”

Arthur nodded. “Agreed. They can’t acknowledge our business as having anything to do with the US Government. A little compensation is expected.”

“A little my arse,” Yusuf intoned. 

“Twenty thousand each per completed job,” Cobb said which earned him a whistle from Eames, and two looks of shock on Yusuf and Arthur’s face. 

“And per diem?” Eames asked. 

“Yes, the missions will be fully funded with spending money. But I will need receipts for every dime spent so don’t go crazy getting personal items. Or… at the casinos,” he added giving Eames a look.

“Of course not,” Eames said with a smile. 

“Before we agree to all of this I think that a certain matter that happened last night needs to be discussed,” Cobb said. 

And just like that Eames’ mood changed. Moreover, he changed his mind, he did feel like a schoolgirl who was about to have her crush revealed to not only her crush but the entire classroom. Though only said crush didn’t know what had happened. 

“I’m sorry, Eames. I don’t want this blowing up just before you ship out and it becoming an issue,” Cobb said with an apologetic look.

“Does this have anything to do with our dynamic as a team?” Arthur asked. He wasn’t sure what was going on but in truth he didn’t want to know. He had his own demons he was dealing with concerning one of his own teammates and he did not know if it concerned him or not but he didn’t give a shit.

“Eames?” Cobb asked. Only Eames could answer the question. Though Ariadne would disagree because he had told her himself he could handle Mal.

“When do we leave?” Eames answered with his own question.

“In two days,” Cobb replied a bit suspiciously.

That meant they would be gone before Ariadne left and before her timeline for Cobb to tell Arthur was up. This job could take two weeks easily. In which time they would be out of touch with their personal lives. Only Cobb would be able to reach them. 

“Let us finish this job first and see if there’s an issue,” Yusuf put in his thoughts before any of the others could pipe in. He thought Eames could easily handle his feelings for Arthur. He was not ruled by them the way others were. 

“Agreed,” Arthur said.

“Agreed,” came Eames.

“Fine, everyone go look over the files and we’ll meet again this afternoon with some military big wigs who want to remain anonymous that will help give us a plan of attack,” Cobb stood signaling the end of the meeting.

“I guess that’s our cue to go do some fucking work,” Eames said and stood as well. 

“Let’s get together our own plan,” Arthur said and he, Eames and Yusuf retreated to Arthur’s office.

Both Arthur and Eames had Special Forces training and they both trusted each other a helluva lot more than any anonymous military brass. Instead of sitting at his own desk, Arthur sat on the sofa in his office next to Eames and Yusuf took one of the chairs. 

“It looks like they only have this one name of a ghost who they _think_ is this arms dealer. No picture, no Intel, only a name. Which is probably an alias any way. We’ll need to start here,” Arthur started and opened up the folder to the first name that was on the page. 

“Seref Uzun. He’s low level and probably not going to give us much. How’s your Arabic and Kurdish?”

“Baṣ, tu?” Eames said with perfect annunciation.

“Awarte,” Arthur replied with just as perfect annunciation.

With a smile and renewed camaraderie, the boys set down a plan to get into Seref’s life. He seemed to only consort with a small group of men and they all worked together. Or rather, there were images of them all arriving at different locations together and leaving at mostly the same time. Only one of the men was married, which made him a hard target to corner, but all the others, including Seref, frequented a house of ill repute. _Of course_ , Eames thought. He didn’t mind if it meant doing something more than catching a cheating husband.

“Looks like you’ll be our in. If we can get him to talk about who he reports to then we might be able to see not only who’s in charge of the warehouses where they store their weapons but who’s in charge of the supply lines and what routes they take when and where,” Arthur said with a smile. He knew how Eames hated forging women but he had to admit he enjoyed seeing him do it. The last job… Nope. He was not going to think about it. It already had caused him to hook up to a PASIV at his home so he could finish what he’d started with Eames as Darlene. Darleis. Whatever. Either way he wasn’t going to bring along his luggage on this job. This actual, real, job. 

They had their line of attack when they went into the conference room to meet or not meet the military brass that was there to give them their own plans. 

It was odd looking at the man who were so obviously high-ranking military in regular suits. Yusuf looked from one to the other and then to Cobb and Arthur. He felt supremely underdressed in his denims, loose fitting shirt and long vest that were his trademark office attire. He was happy that Eames also didn’t care for suits and was in one of Shad’s shirts, khaki trousers and a tweed jacket of all things, complete with leather patches at his shoulders. 

“We will supply you with new passports, complete with wallets full of identification to match and visa’s that will allow you to transport your equipment without incident. Your cover will be research into plant genetics. You’re visa’s will say you are with a group called…” The gray haired (general) man looked down at his file. “IPGRI which stands for…” He started looking through is papers again.

“International Plant Genetic Resource Institute,” Yusuf said and then looked around at everyone like it was common knowledge.

“You know this group?” The (general) man asked with an interested lift to his rather bushy eyebrows.

“Yes, their work on a transmission of a disease=resistant gene from wild wheat in Turkey could save America close to fifty million dollars a year in helping with their cultivated… wheat… plants. What? Shad and I donate to them.” Yusuf looked around again at everyone just staring at him. Though Cobb looked rather pleased. 

“Yes, well this group does work in Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. All places that you might need to be going. If need arises that you should have to dump your cover, contact Cobb and we’ll do our best to get another for you. But these covers take a lot of work, do your best not to ruin them.” The (general) man was looking at each of them as if they were grunts under his command. His eyes finally fell on Arthur.

“You are ex-Special Forces and truth be told the only reason I agreed to even allow you civilians in. I expect you to handle this as you did any other operation.”

“Of course, sir. Though I’m not the only experienced man here. Eames was also military. We know how to get our operations done and we know what can and can not be spoken outside of this room.” Arthur was a little put off that the General (he knew good and well what he was) freely spoke about his military experience. Cobb knew it of course, as did Eames but Yusuf had no idea unless Eames told him. Which he probably did but the General did not know that. 

“Yes, well…” The General knew exactly who Eames was. SAS. Not someone to be trifle with but also not an American soldier which in his mind made him a wild card. An ex Special Forces, time living in Mombassa… It didn’t sit right with him at all. 

"Sir," Cobb interjected seeing the look on both Arthur and Eames faces. "I was offered to do these kinds of jobs for you, we didn't come to you. Obviously there are many who believe that my team is more than capable of gathering the Intel you need."

The General did not like being put in his place and was obviously not used to it. He glared at Cobb in a manner that said he was used to men cowering before that stare. Cobb had never been military and he just kept the same blank face that could mean he didn't give a shit or that he was seriously thinking you were an asshole. Either way neither backed down. Eames was proud of Cobb.

The other suit spoke up then. "Gentlemen, no one is questioning your ability. Though many of my colleagues do not feel this is a reliable form of intelligence. This first mission will make or break all of us." 

The General looked at the other man and just glared at him. Though this time he chose to look away first and Eames wondered if the other man outranked him. 

“I for one am just ready to get this going,” Eames added in. He was leaning back in his chair (Arthur fashion with the front legs up) looking as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He held in everything that he felt about the conversation at hand. Unlike the situation with the Senator. That was personal and he had no issues letting her know what he thought of her and her bigoted small mind. This was military. He knew what was being said about him without it being spoken aloud. He had on his _poker face_ as his CO used to tell him. 

All eyes turned to Eames and he flashed them a winning smile in return. “We know what our job is and believe me, men…” he pointedly left out the _gentle_ in gentlemen. “You won’t find a better way to extract information.”

Eames leaned his chair forward until the legs were firmly on the ground. He then leaned his body forward further to rest his arms on the conference table and look directly into the General’s eyes. “There’s no lying within your own dreams. And men like this…” Eames placed his hand on the file in front of him. “These are grunts that don’t have the money to Dream Share or even the knowledge of Dream Sharing. Let alone learning how to defend their mind. We are trained to go in and extract every bit of information they deem as secret and important.”

Eames turned his head to the other man. “This first mission will not break us. You can count on that, sir.”

The rest of the meeting was less hostile but there was a definitely sense of unease in the room. Everyone knew where they stood with each other and the only one that didn’t seem to give a shit was Eames. By the time the brass left Arthur was finally cooling down. His jaw stopped doing that clenching thing he did when he was angry and he was to the point of just seething.

“Stop thinking so loud, darling,” Eames said casually.

“You can’t tell me they didn’t piss you off?" Arthur said. Now that they were alone in their conference room, just him, Eames and Yusus (Cobb was seeing out the brass), Arthur could speak a bit more freely.

"I think you and Cobb were pissed enough for all of us," Eames said. He leaned back in his chair again, a move he was doing more and more often. 

Arthur gave him a confused look. There were times that he just didn't get Eames. Things that he was sure he should be pissed off about just didn't phase the man. He'd underestimated him from the first moment he had met him. He always had believed that was part of what made Eames a success in everything he did. In Afghanistan he had checked into Eames and he hadn't lied, he was the best the SAS had to offer. His file was highly classified and to this day he knows he hadn't even tapped the surface of all he had done and accomplished in the service of the Queen. 

"All I am saying, Darling, is that you and Cobb said all that needed saying," Eames smiled at Arthur as he spoke to him. He was proud of him and Cobb and felt more a member of their team than he had since the Fischer job. 

Arthur sat down in the seat next to Eames. They had a lot of work to do and he was actually in need of food. "Let's go grab some food. Then we can come back and get things going."

Eames arched a bow and looked to Yusuf who just shrugged. Eames looked back to Arthur who looked rather pleased with himself for throwing them off so easily. 

At the restaurant they all were about to eat when Arthur's phone rang. Eames glanced down and noticed it was Piper. His heart skipped a beat. He wondered if she and Arthur were going to try again. Nothing he could do about it if they did but… The phone was still ringing.

"Tell her I said hello," Eames said with a rather large grin, hiding away any feelings he had over the situation,

"Hello, Piper," Arthur said. He felt a bit awkward taking a personal phone call but he couldn't ignore it with Eames already having seen who was calling.

"Hey there, handsome," Piper said in a very chipper voice. But that was her usual tone. She was always the type who made everyone feel at home, or feel better, or just feel a part of whatever was happening.

"Is everything okay?" Arthur was hoping she hadn't gotten in trouble for what had happened. They cleaned their tracks very well, as usual, but there was always the chance something could come up.

"Oh, yes, of course. I was actually… This is a bit weird considering…" Piper's voice was a bit nervous. 

Arthur arched a brow and looked around the table. He wondered what could be making her feel so out of sorts. It had been years since they had dated, he didn't think she was looking for a reconciliation. Or was she? She had broke it off all those years ago when she found out he was questioning his sexuality. She wasn't harsh about it, she just told him she loved him and she knew he needed to figure out what he really wanted before they could get married. Yeah, they'd been engaged. She gave him back the ring and they kept in touch over the years. 

"Okay, sorry. I just was wondering if your friend Eames was seeing anyone?" Arthur's arched brow was joined by the other and his face was one of pure shock. He hadn't been expecting that. "He was the one with the amazing accent, the charming one, right?"

"Is everything alright?" Eames asked, taking note of the rather shocked look on Arthur's face.

"What? Oh… yeah," Arthur said.

"Oh, is he there?" Piper asked. 

"Um, yes, he is," Arthur cut his eyes to Eames as he answered. 

Eames' eyebrow arched. "Me?" 

"Ohhhhh," Piper said in a very knowing voice. "The hand on the knee… I'm sorry I didn't think you two were… you know."

Arthur took a deep breath. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with her. Especially not with Eames sitting less than three feet away. Two feet. "Can I give you a call, later?" 

"I expect you to, handsome," Piper's voice did not sound as he would have expected. He didn't expect her to be mad or upset or anything just not… well, not as if it was a normal everyday conversation. 

"Bye, Piper," Arthur intoned and ended the call.

"So, she was asking about me?" Eames asked as he took a bite of his burger.

"No," Arthur replied but did not look at Eames. Instead he tucked into his salad and tried not to imagine what was going through Eames' head. 

"Who's Piper?" Yusuf asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget, comments are love. Kudos are love. Together they are shiny special happiness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eames, Arthur and Yusuf are undercover and in Turkey. What trouble will they find there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have been severely sick for the last few weeks. Walking Pneumonia is no fun, let me just say. I am almost back to 100% so hopefully I am back on track with the fic. This is a short chapter, for me anyway. I promise the next one will be longer and smut filled. Terrorists made them do it will be in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy.

There had been a job several months back that required the team going on location without Cobb. Phillipa had a school play and he was not going to miss that. That was when they first looked into 3D architecture and used it for their needs. Dom was able to build the dream on a computer in 3D. He found a suitable program, Sketchup, took a crash course on CAD (computer aided design) and found he liked working with the program instead of the models. The models were a pain and created a load of trash and clean up. 

Eames brought in an idea that rounded out the use of the Architecture program. He had a friend who worked for Apple and knew of a 3D camera that would be revolutionizing the market. Their job was for the government of course and he asked Cobb if he could get them one. So a week later they had one of the prototypes. It was Eames who knew how to handle the device. He had taken the camera home along with the manual and came back the next day with almost absolute knowledge. 

Arthur interfaced the camera's program with Sketchup and Eames was able to show them how to integrate the camera into the building of jobs Cobb would not be able to be a part of. 

"Basically," Eames said. "The camera uses Radar, Laser and LIDAR to create the 3D image that can then be…"

"LIDAR?" Cobb asked.

"Light Detection and Ranging," Eames said and upon noticing the blank stares that he received he continued. "It emits laser pulses that reflects off of surfaces in the image and detects the reflected signal. The LIDAR will then determine distance in the time delay between the pulse and the reflected signal."

"Impressive," Yusuf said with an appreciative nod.

"You learned all of that last night?" Arthur asked.

"No, Arthur. I actually do have other interests besides Dream Share," Eames stated a bit snidely.

Arthur had looked at the man with appreciation and instead of rising to the bait, he simply smiled and nodded. There were always things about Eames that surprised him and made him realize the depth of him was beyond what he let other people see. 

*****

"When you get the images of the house I need them sent to me immediately. Any pictures of the surrounding area you could send would be helpful," Cobb was saying to Eames on the ride to the airport. 

"Of course," Eames replied. He knew that Dominick knew he understood his job. He was just worried about the job. It was going to be difficult venturing into a completely new territory without the entire team on site. Though in truth, he and Arthur were combining their prior lives with their current. At least that was how he felt about what they were doing. 

The ride to the airport was supplied by the military though they were in two different SUV's that surprisingly did not scream military or any other official government vehicle. One was a blue and white Landcruiser while the other was a tan Denali. Eames liked the Landcruiser. If things kept up for them and the money kept rolling in then he was seriously thinking of getting one. The seats were comfortable and supported his bulk. He wasn't as thick as he once was but again, if they continued with jobs like this he imagined he would be feeling more himself.

Their drivers were even civied up. No suits, no dark shades, no noticeable weapons. The close cropped hair could be for any reason so it didn't identify them as military. They all, even Arthur, changed their wardrobe to fit their cover. Which they were relying greatly on Yusuf to help them with the bounty of knowledge he had on IPGRI. Though Arthur and Eames had studied as well it was just easier to identify Yusuf as their team leader in order to allow him to field any questions about their business in Turkey and the Middle East.

They arrived at the airport and Arthur waved down an airline employee with a trolly. They had a lot of equipment to load. Everything was labeled (some falsely) and an inventory was in Yusuf's hand already to give to the attendants. He looked nervous already.

"All right, sweetheart?" Eames asked.

"What? Oh, yes." Yusuf was trying to behave as Eames and Arthur were. Nonchalant. He never had been good at nonchalant, though. He was a fretter and in all his travels (even with LDS) he had never had forged documents identifying him as someone he was not. Well of course if they were forged they wouldn't be him, but he was nervous and his mind was whirling in twenty different directions, creating twenty different scenarios that all ended up with him in a small room somewhere being interrogated and a bright light shining in his face.

"Breathe, it's all going to be fine." Eames smiled and pat his friend on the back.

"Okay, I expect to hear from you guys as soon as you land," Cobb said loud enough that he was heard by any people close by. 

That was Yusuf's cue to start their cover.

"Ankara is a busy city, Phillip, we'll call when we get to the hotel." Yusuf was doing better and there was even that smile that he donned when he did something even he did not expect.

Cobb returned the smile, "fine, fine. I'll see you all in two months." Their visa's were good for two months only. They were sure they could be done before then but whether or not they were that was their timeline. If it wasn't done then they would turn over what intelligence they had collected and probably not go on another job like it.

They had a two hour layover in Munich, in which Yusuf got to explain their work visa's and present (again) his inventory of equipment. He was getting better at acting the part and seemed to be enjoying it. He informed the agents in Munich about what they were hoping to accomplish and that if they were given funding they could save even Germany a ton of government money in agriculture. He even left pamphlets containing information on how to donate. 

When they arrived at Esenboga Airport it was nearly seventeen hours after they had left America. It was warm and not as humid as it got later in the summer. After they got off the plane they had to pick up their visa’s, go through Immigration, then pick up their luggage and go through customs. The entire process was tiring and they still had to get a vehicle and travel another eight to ten hours to Gaziantep. 

“Let’s go see what Phillip got us for a vehicle,” Arthur said. 

Eames barely managed to find a trolly to pile all their luggage and equipment before they made it to the Avias counter where there was an older Landcruiser on hold for them. It didn’t take long to load up everything and get on the road. It was late, but they all had slept on the plane. They needed to get this job going and it wouldn’t truly start until they were in Gaziantep.

Along the way they practiced speaking to each other using their new identities. Arthur was Christopher Johnson, Eames was Steve Cohen and Yusuf was David Patel. By the time they arrived in Gaziantep they were able to refer to one another as the names on their passports and visa’s. 

They set up in a hotel that seemed closer in appearance to the Bates Motel than an actual hotel. Eames made a remark about he better not hear a guy jerking off on the other side of his wall. Then he laughed because he was in the room between Arthur and Yusuf. He actually didn’t mind the idea of hearing one of them jerk off. The other was, well… no. He really didn’t want to hear any kind of sexual noise coming from that room. 

It was evening and Eames was the one that needed to get some work done. The brothel/bar/hotel that Seref frequented would be opening for the evening. Eames (Steve) would go to said brothel and see if he could gain an evenings services with one Dilara, the house madam. She was picky and had a very select clientele that consisted of Seref and only a handful of others. Eames fit the profile of men she saw more than Arthur or Yusuf so he was first to go in and try to get an evening with her. 

The pictures they had of her were limited and once Eames was there he realized they did not do the woman justice. Turkish women, like any other nationality, had a very specific look. Most were attractive but few as beautiful as Dilara. She was an image of grace and beauty that seemed to belong on a movie screen rather than in a brothel. She ran a decent brothel, clean and pretty girls, and lots of regular clientele that could afford it. She looked like a woman who knew how to handle not only the clients but their money.

Eames studied her appearance that he could see. Large, light brown eyes with minimal makeup and signature long straight dark hair. She didn’t dye her hair the way many of the hookers or madams did. She seemed to prefer her natural appearance, which suited her. She was slender, with smallish breasts. Couldn’t be larger than a b-cup, but she was well proportioned and her lack of bustiness didn’t take away from her appearance or her desirability. This was the woman Eames would need to forge. 

Their mark wouldn’t be visiting Dilara for another four days. It gave all of them time to set up and try to get things rolling. They wanted to put Seref under just before his weekly meeting in the brothel. Any business he felt he needed to discuss would be fresh in his head and he won’t have felt he’d gone over it already which in the past they had found out was not a good thing. The subconscious of the mark could feel déjà vu and realize that something was off. If they went in too long before the meeting they could miss vital information. So, four days was what they had to work with. 

Eames sat at the bar, ordered a drink and asked to see Dilara. He was told that he would have to wait and that she was a busy woman and that she might not even make time for him. He said he understood but kept up the façade of being a man only willing to see the madam. One of the prettier girls came to him asking if he wanted some alone time with her and he declined. He supposed he was being offered the girl to see if he was truly only willing to see Dilara. After an hour and a half Eames checked his watch and made a disgruntled noise before getting up.

He turned and before he made it out of the bar and into the lobby, Dilara was there. 

“You were asking for me?” she asked in only slightly accented English. 

“Yes, I was told to see you but it seems I’ve run out of time,” Eames said.

Dilara crossed her arms and gave Eames an appreciative once over. “I am sorry, without an appointment, my time is very hard to come by. If you were truly told by someone to see me you would have made an appointment. Who was it referred you to my establishment?” 

Eames arched a brow and shook his head. “I do not think his wife would appreciate his name being tossed about in such an establishment, no matter how nice it is. Let us say, Sir James sent me to see you, not your establishment.”

Sir James was the alias of a certain member of British Parliament that he knew frequented Ms. Dilara’s brothel. He also knew that the man did not ever see anyone that wouldn’t be of the best quality. And though the brothel had many beautiful girls, Dilara was obviously the cream of the crop, so to speak.

Dilara’s smile changed just slightly. It was as if turning a staged smile into one used when meeting an old acquaintance. “An hour and you are already out of time? Perhaps Sir James’ friends are not as attentive as he is.”

Eames gave a small chuckle and shook his head. “I am out of time because of the hour, my lady. I have somewhere to be early in the morning and the wasted hour and a _half_ means that the time I like to take will have already been cut short.”

At that, Dilara laughed. Her perfectly straight teeth showed in the dim light of the room and her entire body language changed. Her arms uncrossed and she reached a hand out to take his. “Let us see what you can do in the time you have left.”

Eames took her hand and let her lead him upstairs. The rooms were nicer than the ones they had rented and he wondered if Arthur would be put out if he decided to stay there instead. The lack of attention, real attention, Eames had been missing was more than made up for with his night with Dilara. He was overly attentive, paying attention to every inch of her body and sound she made. She was a brilliant lover and worth every lira of the governments money he spent on her. He’d recorded her, sound only, so he could listen and commit her voice to memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget, Comments are love, Kudos are love and both make me shiny happy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terrorists never do what you expect them to do and they can order you to do things you never would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end notes for glossary

Eames woke to the sound of the crappy old alarm clock that beeped an atrocious sound at him. He rolled in his bed and pushed different buttons on top of the clock until the sound stopped. He rubbed his eyes and groaned, only five hours of sleep. He’d come back to the Bates motel at a little after five, showered and went straight to sleep because he needed to go back to the brothel with the 3D camera. He knew that the brothel would be locked and the ladies would all be asleep. He’d checked the alarm system the night before and it was old and very simple to break. 

There was a knock at his door. 

Eames flipped the blankets off of him and walked to the door in his boxers. When he opened the door he found Arthur there with a tray of coffees. Three cups. 

“You’re not up yet?” Arthur asked as he walked past Eames into his room.

“Obviously I am, Arthur. I opened the door, didn’t I?” Eames answered in a rather gruff voice. 

“You know what I mean. What time did you get back?” Arthur moved to set down the coffees on the dresser and tried not to watch Eames move about in his boxers. The man had an amazing body even if he had lost a bit of his bulk. 

“Five,” Eames replied as he moved to gather some clothes out of his luggage. 

Another knock at the door.

“Bloody hell, neither of you were up all night,” Eames said and answered the door to Yusuf standing there. 

“Good morning,” Yusuf said. He smiled to see Eames in Shad’s boxers. “Shad will be happy you wear the things he sends you.”

“Of course I do,” Eames said, going back to his luggage to gather his clothes. 

Arthur couldn’t help but look. When he wasn’t busy looking at the amazing body and focused on the boxers (just the boxers not what lay under them) he noticed they were silk and very well made. 

“How is it Shad sends you clothes, Eames?” Arthur asked. He had seen Shad’s clothes and always thought the man had exquisite style. Even the loud colors were well made and very stylish. He wouldn’t wear the bright clothes but he knew Shad had a more conservative line as well. The boxers however were a midnight blue and though they were boxers and baggy by definition, they cupped Eames perfectly in all the right places. 

Eames was about to speak up but Yusuf interrupted. “Is it the boxers you are admiring or what is inside of them?” He was teasing. Somewhat. The way Arthur was looking at the boxers reminded Yusuf of how he looked at Shad when he modeled his underwear for him. Sure he noticed the underwear but he was more appreciative of what was inside of them.

Eames smiled, held his arms out with his jeans hanging from one hand and did a little turn. “Liking the view, Arthur?” 

Arthur felt his ears burn in embarrassment. “Didn’t you have enough fun last night?” The moment he said it, Arthur felt like a jealous fool. He hadn’t meant to sound as if he’d stayed up all night thinking about what it was Eames was doing with the woman. In truth he hadn’t lost any sleep. Not really. Maybe just a little.

Eames’ smiled faltered and he dropped his arms. “It was all business,” he said with a smile and turned to go into the bathroom.

There was a very uncomfortable silence in the room. Yusuf grabbed a coffee and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t meant to make the situation tense. But…

“I am sorry, Arthur. I can’t help but notice the sexual tension between the two of you. Someone has to do something before you both explode.” 

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Arthur replied. He gathered a coffee for himself and sat in a chair by the small round table that seemed uniform in every cheap hotel around the world. 

Yusuf sighed. He knew he was right and he knew that the two of them were being utterly ridiculous about the whole situation. It was painfully obvious that both men were past attraction and on to being completely stupid for each other. They may be able to have other trysts whilst they stayed in denial but soon that would be impossible. 

The door to the bathroom opened and Eames came out fully dressed other than his shoes. “Well isn’t this awkward,” he said as he gathered his shoes. 

“Just waiting for you,” Arthur replied rather curtly. 

“Okay, so while I’m gathering the images needed from the Brothel, you two will be following Seref and getting as much intelligence as you can on his day to day. We’ll meet later back here. I should already have what I need and have it sent to Cobb.” Eames finished slipping on his socks and shoes before standing. 

“Be careful,” Arthur said, standing as well.

“You too,” Eames said with a slight quirk of the corner of his mouth. 

“I will be sure to be careful as well, if either of you were worried,” Yusuf said with a roll of his eyes. 

Arthur and Yusuf left his hotel room and Eames finally made it over to where his coffee still sat in the tray. He took a sip and groaned in delight. It was rich and strong and everything a good coffee should be. America just couldn’t get it right. The coffee there was always a bit weak and not nearly as robust as he had found nearly anywhere else in the world. 

Eames gathered his equipment and headed downstairs. The camera had been modified and made a bit smaller but not much more than the original prototype. It was bulky but would pass off as a tourist with money enough to buy the latest technology. He left it packed in the black case that cushioned and held it snug inside. 

After grabbing his coffee he headed out the door. His grogginess from the small amount of sleep was fading rapidly and his heart beat steadied. It was funny how Arthur could get him so worked up, but a little B and E slowed his pulse to a steady rhythm. 

Arthur and Yusuf had taken the Landcruiser so Eames waved down a cab and was taken to an address down the block from the brothel. He paid the man, gave him a conservative tip, enough to make him happy but not too much or too little that he would stand out in the man’s mind as anything more than a tourist like any other. 

Eames pulled out the camera and started slowly filming the street leading up to the brothel. One thing that he had to do with the camera was maintain a very steady hand and pan very slowly. Speed was not an option. He gathered enough images from the streets around the brothel that he stopped at a small café and changed memory cards and batteries. The thing also seemed to have a short battery life. He would have to see if they could find a battery with longer life for the next job. For now he had two back ups and now understood why so many were provided. 

Eames sat in a corner table facing the door. He ordered some Baklava and coffee. Everyone inside the brothel should be asleep and he would be free to get all the images he needed. He ate only a few bites and drank only half his coffee before heading across the street.

He skirted the main entrance and slipped down the alley to the side door. He pulled out his tools and slipped the thin picks in the keyhole. Two turns and he was inside to a slow incessant beeping coming from the alarm key pad to the left. He shut the door and removed the face plate and number pad in fifteen seconds, clipped two wires and the beeping stopped. Eames smiled to himself. It was record time. 

When he’d sat in the bar the night before his mind had surveyed all exits and made mental notes of where everything was that he could see and where everything probably was that he couldn’t see. When he moved down the hallway and opened a door that led to the back of the bar his smile grew wider. Always good to know that the mind was still as brilliant as ever. 

He set down the bag and unzipped it. Eames took his time surveying the bar and moved slowly through every room on the bottom floor. He didn’t chance going upstairs. All the rooms were up there. He didn’t think that he would need images of those. Seref and his men usually had their meeting in a room on the bottom floor and only after did they collect girls and go upstairs. They should have all the information they needed before that. With any luck Eames wouldn’t have to have sex with any of their targets. 

*****

Back at the hotel room Eames opened the computer and set up the video conference call to Cobb. He sent all the files he had from the camera and waited while Cobb retrieved them. The files were rather large and took more than a little time to transfer.

“I got a call from Ariadne earlier,” Cobb said. They had more than a little time to wait and he thought he’d take advantage of Arthur not being in on the call.

Eames fought the urge to scowl. His anger towards her had not dissipated. “I’m sure she had some rather disagreeable words for you considering you didn’t talk to Arthur before we left and she didn’t get a chance to either.”

Cobb nodded. “She’s not happy I let the two of you go on a job together without informing him of what you were doing. And… What exactly were you doing, Eames I mean… I don’t need specifics, _at all_. But I mean why on earth were you doing that sort of dreaming in the office?”

Eames ran a hand over his face then rubbed at the back of his neck. He had been asking himself the same question. “I don’t know, Dom. I mean…” He took a deep breath and finally dropped his hand from his neck. “I guess I do, just…”

Eames looked into the screen and Dom’s eyes. “I didn’t want to do it at home. I mean it’s Arthur, you know? I see him at work and on jobs, he doesn’t come to my home and I guess I was thinking that I could still keep him out of my personal life if I didn’t have the dream in my personal space? Maybe? I don’t know. It seemed smart at the time and obviously it was the wrong decision.” 

Dom was surprised how much that made sense to him. “I actually understand, I do. And, I do hate that Ariadne broke the trust we have in the office. None of us will feel safe going into our dreams unless we know she’s not in town.”

“We could put a tracking device on her,” Eames said with a snorted laugh.

Cobb joined in the laughter but only for a moment. He may not have liked what she had done to Eames but he liked her. He just did. They all did, though she might have to work to gain back Eames’ friendship. 

After the files were complete Cobb told Eames he’d conference them later. Eames stayed on the computer and signed into his cloud drive. He loaded the files he’d just sent to Cobb. He wanted back ups before he wiped the memory cards. 

It was already late afternoon and he knew that Arthur and Yusuf should still be tailing Seref so he went down to the street in search of something to eat. He loved the food in Turkey. It was spicy and flavorful and no matter how many restaurants opened in America with foreign cuisine he found that all food tasted better in its native country. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the authenticity couldn’t even be truly duplicated in a foreign land. He thought that immigrants watered down their food when they opened in America, as if they knew that people wanted to experience the taste but were afraid they wouldn’t appreciate the true flavor. Either way he was damn near giddy when he took the first bite and nearly smiled until the last.

He grabbed some take away for the boys and headed back to try to get in a short nap before they returned. 

*****

It was time to go. Seref was going to a Hamam and it was one they had already paid a decent sum of lira to one of the Masseurs to put Seref under. His meeting was that night at the brothel and any new information he had would be at the front of his mind. 

Eames would of course be Dilara and Arthur, Eames had to chuckle at this, would be a new boy she had hired. Fresh meat from Spain and one who did not speak Arabic or Kurdish. This way he could be in the room without Seref and his men feeling inhibited to speak freely.

Cobb had set up the architecture and walked them through it with ease. It was quite brilliant. If they came across trouble and needed to run, they wouldn’t be heading for the door, which would hopefully surprise the arms dealers. Instead they would be running upstairs, which once you rounded the corner took you to a side door that had a fire escape leading down to the street. From there it was a labyrinth of alley ways that would eventually lead them to a small shop that was fortified and stocked with arms. Not that they couldn’t create their own. Still it was brilliant. 

Yusuf had brewed his special mix before they had left the states so all he had to do was monitor and start the music for them when time was coming up. That and keep the room clear. He would be armed, which made him uncomfortable, but he also knew he would do anything he could to protect them. 

*****

When they entered the Hamam it was early and hardly anyone was there. They were shown to a private soğukluk where they waited for the high priced Masseur to come and get them when he had Seref asleep. 

“I had to use a sedative,” the Masseur said when he entered the room. 

Yusuf sighed. “What kind of sedative did you use?” 

“It is something a friend gets me,” he replied.

Another sigh, though deeper, escaped Yusuf. The mix he was using didn’t have a sedative. The dream was not going deeper than one level so he hadn’t thought it would be necessary. He took a few breaths and looked over at Arthur and Eames. 

“No killing him while under, there’s no way of knowing what would happen.”

“Is this going to hurt the job?” Arthur asked.

“No, the sedative should actually stabilize the dream further. It might actually help in keeping up the dream. Also in getting us out of here, as he should still be under.” Yusuf picked up the suitcase with the PASIV and motioned for the Masseur to lead the way.

They were led to a Hararet where Seref was already asleep on a marble göbektaşı. The entire Hamam was impressive. It was beautiful and everything you would want when visiting a Turkish Bath. It made Eames long to be visiting it on his own terms. He might have to see to getting a bit of time in one before they went back to the states. 

There were a few chairs set up, one for each of them. If by any chance a kick was needed, Yusuf wanted to be prepared. He actually didn’t mind knocking them over. Both men were what he called _flailers_ , their arms and legs would both shoot out as if to stop them from the inevitable fall they were in. Eames had laughed at Arthur, but failed to mention that he was the exact same way. 

“Okay, boys. See you in ten,” Yusuf said after they had all hooked up. He always hated this part. He knew time moved slowly for them while under, but for him the minutes ticked away at a snails pace. He would sit there for the entire time just watching the clock which seemed to slow as every second ticked past. 

Dilara (Eames) was in the foyer as Seref entered with five other men. She smiled at them and was greeted with a kiss on the cheek from Seref. 

“Your room is waiting,” she said returning the kiss to Seref’s cheek. 

Seref gave her a once over, his eyes slowly returned to her and he gave her a lascivious smile. Though Eames felt his stomach churn Dilara’s face gave him a smile that said she appreciated the look. 

They entered the room which had a small table with chairs around it in the back past a posh seating area that had two chaise and one sofa. There were small tables along with a small bar in the corner. The decoration was more classic Turkish than the modern lobby and formal bar. It was all neutral tones in the light woods with splashes of bright oranges and reds on the throw pillows and curtains. 

Arthur was already in the room waiting. He was dressed in loose white silk trousers that laced rather than zipped, no shoes and only a small vest made of the same white silk. There were gold cuffs at each wrist and Eames arched an eyebrow at the sight he presented.

“What is he doing here?” Seref asked. 

“He is here to wait on you tonight,” Eames said as she walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “He is new to my establishment and I am keeping him close.”

“He cannot stay,” Seref said. 

“He does not speak Kurdish,” she replied. “Only Spanish. He is quite literally fresh off the bus, so to speak.”

Seref looked over the young man and finally with a deep intake of breath which seemed to voice his unease, he nodded. 

Eames stayed as well and the men circled the table before finally settling into seats. Arthur went about setting them up with drinks. None of the men seemed to actually favor men, and that made Eames happy. She didn’t want Arthur to have to _please_ one of them. It was a possibility they had discussed beforehand and Arthur said he was willing to do whatever needed to be done. But none of the eyes lingered on him or took in his very appealing apparel. Only Eames seemed to appreciate it. 

That was what he later would think helped Seref in his first order of the evening. Eames had been taking in Arthur’s appearance when Seref called her name.

“Dilara,” he said and her head turned to him before she walked over to his side. She was dressed in a an Indian Saree. She favored the clothes as Eames had seen in the photos they had of her. So he had chosen one of the ones he thought she looked amazing in. It had the half blouse that cut just under the breast and only covered one shoulder and left the other bare. The blouse was black with gold embellishments, the skirt however started red, with black embellishments and faded to black with red embellishments. The long scarf was sheer and did the same red to black fade. 

“Have you sampled your new boy?” Seref asked. The males in the establishment were mostly there to be a part of a show. Not many men requested men, but it had happened and Dilara had always made sure she was able to accommodate anyone’s tastes. 

“Of course,” she replied. 

Seref pulled gently on her scarf until he had it full in his hands. He lifted it to smell then one of his hands went to her exposed stomach and rubbed calloused fingers back and forth. 

“Show us,” he said. 

Eames arched a brow and looked to Arthur who was doing his best to pretend he’d not understood the request. Eames smiled. 

“Of course,” she said then, in Spanish; “Javier, he wants you to have sex with me, for them to watch.”

Arthur looked up and nodded. He put down the bottle he was holding on the table for the men to pour at their own leisure, and moved to stand beside Eames. 

“On the table,” Seref said and nodded down to it. “Have him undress you first,”

Eames nodded and translated (unnecessarily) for Arthur. 

She turned so her back was to Arthur and she was facing the table and all the men who looked on with hungry eyes. Arthur’s hands smoothed up her arms, to her shoulders and then slowly unclasped the top. When it lay open he used both hands to push the blouse off of her, though he didn’t let it fall to the floor. He took it in his hand and set it down on the table behind him. 

Eames stood topless and all eyes were on her breasts. Seref was licking his lips as if he was ready to take one into his mouth. Eames’ discomfort didn’t show though she desperately wanted to close her eyes to the room so she could only feel Arthur and pretend they were alone. 

“Tell him to play with your breasts,” one of the men said. 

Again, Eames translated and warm hands slipped around her waist to rise slowly until each breast was cupped in soft hands. Arthur’s body was pressed to her back and he whispered in her ear, in Spanish, “I’m sorry.” 

Eames smiled and lifted one arm so she could reach back and bury her hand in Arthur’s hair. She hoped it was enough to assure him that she was fine. His fingers kneaded her breasts before each nipple was tweaked. A surprised and pleasure filled gasp escaped Eames. After that Arthur seemed to need no more assurances that she was okay. His hands toyed with her mercilessly drawing out gasps, moans and causing her hand to fist in his hair.

One hand slid south, smoothing over soft flesh until the top of the skirt was below his fingers. The hand caressed her, two fingers between the material and her flesh and the other two on top of the material. Eames was in heaven and her eyes had closed so the next sound brought her out of the delusion of privacy. 

“Finish undressing her,” Seref commanded in a tone that was breathy and eager.

The cool air in the room assaulted her breast when the warmth of Arthur’s hand left it. It also kept her nipple hard and erect as his hands both moved to untie the skirt and slowly unwrap it from her waist. When it was gone she was completely bare to the room, only a thin gold chair around her belly remained. 

“Dilara, undress your boy,” another breathless command.

A glance around the table made her realize that all the men had at least one hand in their lap. Arms moved and she knew that each and every one of them was coaxing their own cock into fullness and soon they would all be stroking themselves as Arthur fucked her. She wished she could bleach the idea out of her mind but that would never happen. At best she could forget they were watching while Arthur finally fucked her. Eames had yet to have sex with Arthur in a dream and this time it was really him, not a projection.

Eames turned around and with swift but gentle movements she slipped the vest from Arthur’s frame. She was not the servant in the couple so she let it fall to the floor. Their eyes locked and the rest of the room fell away again. She scraped her nails softly down his chest, over his nipples and past his stomach. Once she reached the trousers her breath was coming quicker. She unlaced them slowly, taking time to draw the string out then letting it drop. Her fingers tucked into the fabric, slipped around to his hips and slowly pushed them down. 

The was an uproar of appreciative laughter as Arthur’s very large cock was revealed to the room. Eames was even staring at it. It was much larger than Arthur’s cock in real life, of that Eames was sure. He would have noticed. Even soft a cock that big would create a much bigger bulge than he’d ever noticed on Arthur. And he had looked. Many times. 

She finally raised her eyes to Arthur and could see a smirk play on his lips that she’d never seen before. He was pleased with himself. Of course what man wouldn’t be pleased with himself if he had a cock that size. She smiled in return and wrapped what she could of her hand around him. 

“Mustn’t be afraid to dream bigger,” Arthur said in Spanish and in a hushed tone. 

Eames smiled and had to bite back her laughter. She was a bit surprised that Arthur, Mr. Uptight, would think to bring his own advice back to him in such a manner.

“I am going to enjoy watching this,” one of the men said and he received a round of affirmative noises from his friends. 

Their words however were lost to Arthur and Eames. They could hear them of course, and they were still listening for trouble, but their eyes were all for the other. The way they were reacting to each other was obvious. Arthur was growing harder in her hand and her own body was moistening and tightening at the same time. She wanted to feel this thick flesh inside of her so badly she was literally trembling.

Arthur remembered where they were supposed to fuck and reached down to take her hand from his prick. Both hands then encircled her small waist and he lifted her to the table. Eames spread her legs for him and he noticed a small ring on her clit. Arthur looked up into her eyes and licked his lips. 

“Tell him to bring you with his mouth,” Seref instructed. 

Eames translated and Arthur grasped her thighs and spread them even more. Eames leaned back and propped herself on her elbows to watch. She ignored the three sets of eyes on either side of her and concentrated on the look in Arthur’s eyes. He seemed to be doing the same thing. Concentrating on each other was going to make this all the more pleasurable for the both of them.

Arthur bent at the waist and immediately went for the ring. If they were alone and not on a timeline then he would have been much more attentive to her body then that, but in truth he wanted to give them their show and then maybe later, after it was all said and done, and they were back in their hotel room he could finally come clean with his own desires concerning Eames. He’d waited too long, denied too long, and now their first time was going to be with an audience. At least they were in a dream and not in the waking world. 

He sucked on her clit while his tongue latched onto the ring and tugged. Eames moaned and fire licked around the base of her spine, shot up and then back down to settle in her stomach. Arthur’s mouth was talented and his tongue was downright x-rated. Each suck tugged on that magically line that seemed to be in men and women. The one that burned inside your gut until you were coming and screaming in a hot wet mess. 

Before the line broke and Eames was granted release Arthur moved his mouth and slid his tongue into her already very wet and throbbing body. She was so close, teetering on the edge of abandon and kept there by his tongue and his nose that was pressing and rubbing into her hard and sensitive clit. Her arms shook as she was kept there on the edge of the precipice, waiting for release. 

As if on cue, Arthur moved back to her clit and sucked in earnest. He longed to lift a hand and slip a finger or two inside her so he could feel her walls contract as she came. He managed to resist as he was a servant and he knew he was supposed to follow instruction. With that in mind he mouthed at her clit the way he had her mouth when they had kissed on the Senator job which felt like ages ago.

Eames let out a scream as everything inside of her tightened and then exploded. Her body came in a hot wash and Arthur alternated between lapping at her gushing body and sucking her clit. Finally her arms gave out and Eames dropped to the table gasping. 

Arthur straightened and watched as the body Eames was forging lay on the table covered in glistening sweat and all he saw was Eames. He knew it was a female body but it was Eames. Someone he had been fantasizing about since Afghanistan. He stepped forward, reached down and grabbed hold of the cock that was too large to be his own and aligned himself. 

“Do it,” Seref said, voice deep and guttural. 

Eames looked up and nodded and Arthur pushed forward. Eames felt as if his body was going to split open before it would accommodate the large mushroomed head. Arthur pushed open one of her thighs as he continued to hold himself and push all the way into her. 

Eames was moaning as her vagina was spread open to take the not just long but thick cock of the man she’d wanted for a long time. In her mind, somewhere, she registered that this was a dream and that Arthur was larger than in real life, but it was Arthur. Arthur who had undressed her, caressed her, made her come and was inside of her. That only caused another orgasm to hit her and she nearly choked on the scream.

Arthur groaned and pulled back slowly until just the head remained then pushed in again. He kept up the murderously slow pace until he could fight it no longer and thrust inside of her as hard as he could. Eames screamed and came up off the table to clutch at him. Her hands went to each arm and dug nails into skin. She had no words for what she was feeling. It was like her body was breaking apart and coming together again with each thrust and pull of his prick inside of her. Eames had had sex before in dream share, but never was it that good. Not like she was feeling at that moment. Her body was a fountain as wave after wave of orgasm crashed over her and she was left hoarse from her screams.

The urgency Arthur felt was intensified with each scream until he could take no more and felt his balls draw up against him and as he pulled back to thrust in once more a hand pushed at his stomach, stopping him. 

His head turned and his eyes flashed anger at the offending man who stopped him. There was a challenge there and he had to fight every inch of his nature to remember that he was the submissive there and this man was in charge. He pulled back until his aching cock slipped out of Eames’ body. 

“Tell him to take your ass,” he said in gruff voice to Eames while still glaring at Arthur. 

Eames was trying hard to regain composure. But she cleared her throat and spoke in a hoarse whisper to Arthur. He had already heard the command in Kurdish and did not need it repeated in Spanish. Suddenly his small little prank at Eames felt like a death sentence to both of them. Anal with his cock the size it was would hurt. All he could do was try to prepare her as best he could.

Arthur did his best to help a shaking Eames off of the table so she could bend over it. As she scoot off and he caught her in his arms, he apologized to her in her ear. She smiled again and placed a kiss to his lips. It was soft, almost chaste but left him with the desire to just grab her hand and run. He didn’t want to do this. 

Eames turned and bent over the table. One man grabbed one of her wrists and pulled her arm until she was sufficiently restrained and another on the other side of the table did the same thing. She didn’t mind being restrained so much as having the other men touching her while Arthur did what he was about to do.

She felt his hand between her legs and her eyes rolled shut. His fingers slicked themselves then moved to her tight puckered entrance. 

“No,” Seref said and Arthur stilled as did Eames beneath him. 

No preparation meant pain. Neither one of them wanted that. Eames shivered at the thought of how much it was going to hurt and tried to concentrate on loosening the body she was forging. She could change anything about her body but there wasn’t enough time and suddenly she felt the large prick at her entrance and all she could do was squeeze her eyes shut tighter. 

The sting of penetration had never hurt so much in her life. She could feel Arthur had slicked his prick with her juices, but it wasn’t enough to ease penetration. The feeling she had before of being split open was quadrupled and she knew it wasn’t just a feeling, her skin had split and she had to be bleeding. 

Arthur felt his eyes nearly cross at the unbelievably tightness squeezing his prick. He was doing everything he could to stay hard. Rape was not his thing and even if Eames was willing, he knew she hadn’t wanted this. No one would. He looked down and growled at the bright pink hole spread around his shaft, then the blood caught his eyes and he wilted some. 

A stream of curse words slipped from his parted lips and he closed his eyes. He tried his best to unsee the blood but he couldn’t. Suddenly Eames moaned and his prick twitched with interest. 

Eames knew Arthur was losing his erection, she could feel it inside of her. Though he’d only made it half way in, she could feel it. He needed prompting, something to make him realize it was okay and they needed to finish the job. She wiggled her hips, gasped instead of cried and soon he was pushing all the way into her. It hurt. Not in any kind of good way, but it was Arthur and if she could work past the pain it would be okay.

Soft pulls and thrusts soon had her loose enough that the moans were not fake. They were real and she was getting off on the feel of him pressing into the tender and sensitive hole. She only wished for different circumstances, her male body and Arthur’s normal size. The last almost had her smiling. 

Arthur began to truly fuck her and she truly enjoyed it. He was close again and this time when his orgasm built he wasn’t stopped as he slammed into her over and over. His hands held her hips and one more thrust had him filling her with his seed. 

He finally pulled out, utterly spent, and Seref was standing. “Tell him to hold your arms,” he growled. 

Arthur looked to see the man already had his dick out and was waiting for him to move so he could take his place. Panic set in and it was only Eames who held onto any semblance of control. 

“Javier, come hold my hands, now. I want to look into your eyes.” It was all she could say to not chance any of them knowing what she needed. She didn’t know if any of them spoke Spanish and she wasn’t about to test it. She didn’t want to have Seref inside of her with Arthur’s seed still in her. Not then, not ever. She could take it though if she could look into Arthur’s eyes. 

Arthur reluctantly moved to the other side of the table and took each of her hands in his. He bent over the table, held her wrists down and stared into her eyes. Arthur’s too expressive eyes said everything he could not. He hated it all and he suddenly hated himself for ever allowing Cobb to send them on this mission or any mission where Eames had to whore himself to get paid. Never again. 

Eames eyes tightened at the corners as Seref slipped into her entrance. Thankfully she was loosened a great deal by Arthur and she didn’t feel the sting of what would normally be a painful entrance. He pushed in and thrust all the way until her body slid up with the force of him. 

Dilara was a brothel owner and a mistress to many men. The current situation should still keep her in character even if she didn’t want to be. Eames moaned. She didn’t like the cock inside her, nor did it make her feel good, but she did what she had too. 

Seref fucked her as hard as he could and when he finished another man was entering her. By the third one, Seref was calling Arthur to fill their drinks. Apparently he was only wanting the rape fantasy for himself and let it play out for the first two after him. 

With another in a long line of apologetic looks, Arthur stood and filled their drinks. As he did he listened and found out where the next shipment was going and where the weapons were being moved for storage. He even found out the name of the man that was receiving the shipment in Mosul, Iraq. Next target acquired just in time. 

The soft sound of male soprano sounded around them. Vitas. Thank god. 

Eames was still on the table, still had one of the men inside of him when he was brought out gasping and coughing. 

Arthur had came out a split second before and Yusuf was about to move to Eames when Arthur spoke up. 

“Don’t,” he didn’t know if Eames would lash out at the first man that touched him. If he was going to it would damn well be him. He had held him down.

He moved quickly, tossing the IV to the floor and was cupping Eames’ face in both hands. “Eames, you’re okay, it’s over.”

Gray eyes looked up at him and they seemed hollowed out. He wasn’t really seeing him, it was as if he was looking through him and seeing the wall behind him.

“It’s okay, Yusuf, unhook him. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are a few words in here that need translation so I thought to make it easier I would post a glossary so you wouldn't have to search for the translation of the words. :D
> 
> Glossary:  
> Hamam – Turkish Bath  
> Soğukluk – Cool Down Room  
> Hararet – Hot Room  
> Göbektaşı – The raised platform you lay on in the hot room
> 
>  
> 
> Don't forget, comments and kudos are shiny love. <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The healing begins....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had intended to go further with this chapter but it felt right to publish this on it's own to begin the healing process. It's a bit short but I promise the next one will be longer and have more fallout from the previous chapter. I don't do quick heal times, sorry.

The entire drive back to the hotel was in silence. Yusuf drove while Arthur sat in the backseat with Eames who was being frighteningly quiet. So much so; Yusuf had a mind to call the entire thing quits. He was making plans to call Cobb as soon as they got to the hotel and say that this was something they should have never signed up for when Eames finally spoke up.

“I know what you both are thinking, and there is no bloody way we aren’t continuing. I’m fine. I just need a shower and I can sleep on the way to where ever we’re going,” Eames said. His tone was almost one of indifference. One that was unusual for him. He always had a hint of something playful in his tone. 

_Where ever we’re going?_ Yusuf thought and glanced up at Arthur in the rearview. How was it Eames didn’t know where their next target was?

“If you say so,” Arthur intoned carefully. He had been sitting next to Eames without touching him. He hadn’t wanted to crowd him in any way. But at the same time he wanted him to know he was close. 

“How much time do we have?” Eames asked.

“At least four hours until we should leave. It will take us a minimum of six hours to get to where we need to go and the package isn’t leaving until tomorrow night. We can get there and have plenty of time to set up surveillance.” Arthur kept his voice even and calm and as much _business as usual_ as he could. 

Eames could feel the kid gloves handling and though he didn’t like it he had nothing to say about it either. In his mind he was reliving each thrust by every man in that room. He tried focusing on Arthur and what they had done before them but it wouldn’t hold. All he could think about was them and the intense need to take a shower. He knew it wasn’t his actual body that had been sullied but… He wanted a shower. In his mind he could also see her, Dilara, curled in a ball, shivering and crying. Her artful makeup that looked like she barely had any on was streaked down her face and he knew it wasn’t her, but him. 

When they pulled up to the hotel, Eames got out and went directly up to his room. He knew they wanted to talk to him and needed in the room to talk to Cobb. He wanted to lock the door, but he didn’t. He waited until he heard their footsteps then opened the door. “You guys call Cobb, I’ll be out in a bit.”

Without waiting for a reply he had gone in the bathroom and shut the door. He turned the water on full blast as hot as he could take it. Which was hotter than normal because he wanted to scald the memory of them off of him. It fucked with his head. He knew it wasn’t this body, his body, his real body, but it felt like it. He could feel them entering him and fucking him until they had had their fill. Five of them. The sixth had been cut off before he had gotten to Dilara’s body. 

Eames undressed and stepped under the hot spray. He felt it should sting but it didn’t. He pressed his palms to the wall with the nozzles and hung his head directly under the spray. The water splashed the back of his neck and shoulders. Nothing. He couldn’t feel anything. Not the water, nor the heat of it. Not the droplets that streamed down his body in rivulets. He groaned, softly at the memory of what had happened. He should feel sore, his body abused and even bleeding but it wasn’t. There was nothing. 

Nothing. 

*****

Arthur set up the laptop for the video call to Cobb and finally had to stop to look up at the man who wouldn’t stop staring at him. He could feel Yusuf’s eyes boring into his skull expectantly and yes, when he raised his head he could see the man’s accusing stare. 

“What the bloody hell happened in there?” Yusuf asked in hushed tones. Eames was in the shower but he still didn’t want to chance him overhearing. 

Arthur sighed and opted to straighten his back instead of signing onto the video program. Yusuf was by far and away Eames’ best friend. Someone that should know what happened but did he tell him or did he let Eames? It was one of those corners he hated being backed into. 

“Something that will never happen again,” Arthur finally responded. He moved his hands to tug at a vest that wasn’t a part of his current attire and settled for tucking his hands in his pockets. Those he had. Yusuf was still looking at him expectantly and he wished he could offer more to ease his mind.

“Look, I think you can guess given where we were and who Eames was forging. It wasn’t… I can’t tell you the details,” he said and shook his head at the exasperated look he received. “I wish I could but Eames needs to be the one, it’s his secret.”

Yusuf didn’t like the explanation he received but his mind wasn’t slow and he could figure out what had happened. He stepped closer to Arthur so as not to yell, which was what he wanted to do. 

“That is one piss poor explanation, Arthur and you know it. For now I’ll accept it because he does not need to hear me beating the shit out of you for the truth. And do not raise your eyebrows at me, I can be incited to physical brutality.” And at that moment Yusuf felt he could. He knew Arthur was a lot more apt at hand to hand but he would get in his share of knocks. Maybe.

Arthur believed the man could. He had no idea their friendship was so close. Eames was a hard man to get close to. He had a way of getting under everyone’s skin he was around and it wasn’t always in a good way. He also never opened up. Or maybe it was only Yusuf that got that privilege.

“I think we should call off the job,” Yusuf said now that he was finally able to voice his opinion.

“You heard him, he wants to continue,” Arthur responded and went back to signing into the video call. 

“You truly believe he is capable of continuing?” Yusuf couldn’t believe Arthur was willing to go on. He had witnessed it. 

“I know he is. He is capable of handling more than any man I know,” Arthur could feel the truth of his words but a part of him wanted to agree and just take Eames home. 

Yusuf felt utterly exasperated, angry and appalled all at once. So much so that he felt it best to remove himself from the room. 

“I am going to get food. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Arthur nodded and just then Cobb’s voice sounded. The screen however was black. 

“You guys there? What’s wrong with the video?” Cobb’s voice sounded clear.

“I don’t know,” Arthur replied and pushed the mouse around to click the video button. 

Cobb’s face came into view. 

“That’s better. How’d it go?” 

“We got all the information we needed. I’m sending the message now.”

Arthur opened the program for encoding their messages. It was a simple program as far as using it, though he knew that the message would be impossible to read without the proper receiving package. 

“You look tense, are you sure everything went alright?” Cobb asked. 

“I said we got all the information, not that it went alright,” Arthur corrected. His voice clipped.

“Are you guys okay?”

“We’re continuing the job, Cobb. No one is ready to go home yet.” Arthur was still angry and he supposed he’d buried it to try to calm a worried friend and now it was rising to the surface. 

“That’s not what I asked and damn you for thinking that was what I was worrying about,” Cobb said and immediately regretted the words as they left his mouth. 

Arthur glared daggers at Cobb through the screen. “Damn me? I wasn’t the one that drug us down without telling us the possibilities of limbo! I wasn’t the one who pushed and pulled everyone along, damn the consequences, all to get what you wanted!” 

“I know, Arthur, I’m sorry. I’ve changed since then…” 

“Yes, because you got what you wanted,” Arthur snapped at him once more. He paced back and forth in front of the computer stopping only to glare at the man on the screen.

“Arthur, I’m sorry. I’m… pulling the plug on this one.” Cobb felt horrible. He had no idea what had happened. All he knew was Arthur had a murderous look on his face and he hoped to never see that look again. 

“No,” Arthur said with a note of finality. “Until he says it’s time to go, we stay.”

“Eames?” Cobb asked but didn’t have to hear the answer. The pieces fit together in his mind and he knew what had happened. 

“Arthur,” Cobb said and waited until he looked at him. “I do care about you guys, all of you. If you think it’s too much, or even worry he can’t continue…”

“I’ll bring him home,” Arthur finished. 

Arthur finally moved back to the encryption program and typed in all the information he had. “We’re moving out in a few hours. Our next stop is in the message I just sent. I’ll call if anything comes up.” 

“Okay, take care.”

Arthur closed the video program and waited for the message to finally send before turning everything off and started packing. They had a drive in front of them and he wanted to make an easy go of it for Eames. If that was even possible.

The movements seemed almost automatic, more like he was going through the motions and not really doing anything. It was getting done, over efficiently, most definitely. He was wrapping cords so tight there was space in the bag even with the extra items he was packing within. He shut the briefcase that held the computer and looked at the bathroom door. It had been close to forty five minutes. 

He walked over and knocked on the door. No answer. He knocked again and this time said, “Eames.” Still no answer. Worry clenched his already knotted gut. His hand went to the door knob and for a split second he wondered if he should interrupt him or not before he tried to turn it. It was locked from the inside. 

Eames didn’t hear the knock or the call of his name. He’d started scrubbing his body with the meager wash cloth provided and the small bar of soap. The soap was already gone but still he was scrubbing, arms, chest, legs, and he couldn’t clean his rear enough. 

He was standing under the spray again, his face up tilted to let the water splash over it when the shower curtain opened. Eames turned his head slowly to see Arthur standing there with a towel. He tried to smile and let him know he was okay but his brain didn’t seem to be in proper communication with his mouth and he just stared at him. 

“Let’s get you dry,” Arthur said. 

Eames nodded. He was happy his brain still had some functions. He turned off the water and took the towel from Arthur. He didn’t dry himself though, instead he covered himself. He didn’t want Arthur to see him. He didn’t want anyone to see him. It felt wrong, he had wanted Arthur to see him for so long and now he was afraid of what he’d see. Now Arthur knew that he fucked people in dream share and let them have his way with him. 

“Here,” Arthur handed him another towel. The worry on his face was evident but Eames wasn’t seeing worry, in his mind, his fucked up mind, he was seeing disgust. 

“Thanks, darling,” the response was automatic but he wanted to try to make it seem like everything was alright. He reached for the towel and this time their hands touched.

“You’re cold, you let the water run cold,” Arthur could already see that. Eames’ lips were purple. His normally beautiful, full, always red lips were purple, almost blue. 

“Yeah, I…” Eames’ brain searched again for something to sound nonchalant but failed. So he stepped out of the shower. He was surprised to have Arthur stay where he was and offer help. He had thought he would step back and give him room. His arm went around Eames’ waist and Eames wanted to skirt away from that touch. But he didn’t. He let him help him then walked on shaky legs to the center of the small room.

“I think I got it from here, darling, Thanks for waking me up,” Eames said with a forced effort to sound his usual chipper self. 

Arthur didn’t want to leave. He wanted to make sure Eames was alright. He had seen Eames’ skin and the angry red shade it was everywhere. He wanted to help him but in truth he didn’t know how. He hoped Yusuf could help him because he was failing. 

Arthur nodded and left. With a deep sigh Eames turned to look at his reflection. It was like staring into the face of a stranger. His gray eyes stared back at him until he was looking into them and seeing Dilara curled in a ball. 

Eames squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t want to see her or that part of himself. He didn’t but even behind closed eyes, especially behind closed eyes, he could see her. She was alone in a dark corner of his mind. 

There was a knock at the door. Before Yusuf stepped into the room. 

Eames opened his eyes and turned his head to see his friend. He didn’t know why but the sight of his best friend there, with such concern brought water to his eyes. Yusuf was carrying clothes and he moved into the bathroom after shutting the door behind him. By the time he made it to Eames the tears were streaming down his face. 

Yusuf set the clothes on the counter and though they had never comforted each other in such a way, he wrapped his arms around his friend. He didn’t know what to do for him but seeing Eames like that was killing him and a piece of his heart broke.

Never in his life had Eames cried but the silent tears wouldn’t stop as he clung to Yusuf. His hands were fisted in the material of his shirt at the small of his back. His face was buried in the mans chest and he couldn’t move. His heart was pounding furiously and it was painful in a way he had never felt. 

Yusuf had the strong desire to protect his friend. He couldn’t remember ever truly feeling this fierce desire to protect him. Eames was the protector. He always had been. He was the one who was strong and had a bloody quip for every situation. He didn’t break. But he did and Yusuf wanted to call Shad and have him come and get them. Fuck the job. 

“He saw… Yusuf, he saw me,” Eames muttered in his chest. 

Dawn sparked in Yusuf’s mind as realization of what more was going on in Eames’ head other than being forced to have sex. Arthur had to watch him and the sneaking suspicion that he was falling in love with Arthur was confirmed. He was no longer a man with a keen interest, he was a man in love. 

“Arthur knows you had to, Eames,” Yusuf said in the softest voice he could muster.

Eames unraveled himself from his friend. Tortured and bloodshot eyes looked up into Yusuf’s. “No… We… we had sex, Arthur and I and then…” 

“Oh my God,” Yusuf said. Somewhere in his mind he knew he wasn’t supposed to portray shock when dealing with someone recovering from a rape but he couldn’t stop the shock in his voice or on his face. 

“Thomas, you are not at fault. They set you up for job after job like this. Arthur does not see you any differently…”

“But he does! How can he not? He saw how I had to pretend to enjoy it. Oh God…” Eames moved quickly then. He dropped in front of the toilet and retched up what little was in his stomach. 

Yusuf was sat on the edge of the tub and rubbed gently at Eames’ shoulders. “He knows it wasn’t real, Thomas. He does. He knows that you only did what you had to.”

Eames retched until he was dry heaving and nothing but bile was burning his throat and leaving an acidic taste in his mouth. Finally he stopped and leaned his body until his ass hit the floor. “I don’t know who I am right now, Yusuf.”

“This will change you, no matter what anyone says. I am here though. I am not going anywhere,” Yusuf said. He still wanted them to leave but he knew Thomas Eames, probably better than anyone and he wouldn’t leave if he said he was going to finish the job.

“I know,” Eames said and pushed himself to standing. The towel he had wrapped around his shoulders had fallen away and he had to hold the towel at his waist. “I’ll be out in a minute.” 

Yusuf knew that was his cue to leave even if he didn’t want to. “Alright, I brought food, I think you should eat.”

“I will, sweetheart. Just give me a minute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget comments and kudos are shiny love. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Oh, the banner at the top of this fic was made by me. If you decide to use it for any of your own fics please just give a shiny little credit. Thanks. My beautiful girlfriend told me that I should let you know that if you want the banner without the Fic title on it, I can remove it for you and also put in your fic title if you like. Just a thought.


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